The Tokyo3 Academy
by UnderAGlassMoon
Summary: The Tokyo3 Academy is a high school for kids with rich parents. Shinji Ikari is there because...well, he's one of them! Shinji hates the place because of the stuck-up pupils and only wants out until he learns not everybody is as pompous as reputations say
1. This is My Life

**Disclaimer:** Evangelion doesn't belong to me. If I did…well, I wouldn't be writing this stuff so that it could be posted here!

* * *

My name is Shinji Ikari. I am 16 years old and I go to the Tokyo-3 Academy. Yeah, it's an elitist high school where most of the kids are there because daddy has lots of money. I know. I'm one of them. My father is stupidly rich. He also refuses to speak to me ever so I don't really get on with him when he is home. My mother is a different story. I'm pretty close to her. And I still have no idea why she married my dad. It wasn't the money; I can tell when they're together. I guess that's just one of the mysteries of my life. 

My life. Nothing exciting, really. Most of my days are spent at the academy where I learn a lot about nothing and deal with pompous jocks and girls so far up their own asses they could see out of their mouths. I do have two friends. One goes by the name of Toji Suzuhara and the other by the name of Kensuke Aida. Toji's dad is a football (soccer for those of an American disposition) player for a team whose name I can't remember in the J-League. Kensuke's dad is a supreme General of sorts in the Japanese Self Defence Force. We all go to the Tokyo-3 Academy because of our fathers. We all hated it as well, which was enough for friendship to blossom.

Today was a day like any other. I turned up to registration in the morning so that the registration teacher would take the roll like any other day. This was one part of the day that wasn't half bad. Our registration teacher went by the name of Misato Katsuragi I got pretty well with her. I was good friends with her fiancé, Ryoji Kaji and I got to know her on a personal level through him. Misato was always there when the going got tough which I was eternally grateful for because things got tough often in a pompous, elitist high school. I often asked her why she worked in such a place. "Meh, the pay's good," was her reply. "And plus, more money means more drinks on Friday night!" She definitely wasn't the type I'd associate with the Tokyo-3 Academy.

My registration class was full of the unsavoury rich types. All the girls were annoyingly loud and attention seeking. Especially one Asuka Langley Sohryu. Her daddy was from Germany and she is debatably the most popular girl in school. She annoys me, the way she goes on about herself. It just, argh, it just pisses me off. Of course, she never actually speaks to me because I am the lowest of the caste system in terms of Tokyo-3 academy. She is at the top somewhere and the gulf is overwhelming. Doesn't mean I can't be annoyed with the way she goes on.

When I said all the girls are like that, I wasn't exactly saying the truth. There is one girl who is completely unlike anybody, never mind just the girls here at the academy. Her name is Rei Ayanami and she sits by herself in her corner and never speaks to anybody. Occasionally, she can be seen reading a book but she usually stares out of the window. She's never spoken to me either but there's something about her. We're family apparently, but the link is so remote that it might as well not exist. My mother's 2nd cousin's uncle's daughter-in-law's sister's daughter or something like that. I'm not too sure but that's what I've always reckoned. She's just one of those types you just wonder about.

Apart from that, I don't really know anyway else. I've heard of Asuka because everybody has heard of Asuka and I've heard of Rei because she is somehow distantly and pointlessly related to me. Anyway, today was a day like any other. I was in registration on time. Toji and Kensuke were already in class, chatting about something or another. "Hey guys," I greeted.

"All right Shinji!" Toji said. "You catch the game last night?"

I started at him blankly and asked, "Game?"

"The football man! My dad's team won three-nil! And he scored two of them," Toji said. "I would almost like him if he hadn't shoved me into this frickin' academy."

"Ah, yeah. Well, no, I didn't catch the game," I pointed out. I kept the fact that I had no idea what his dad's team was called from Toji. If he ever asked about a game, I would always say I didn't know or I missed it. In reality, I had no idea where to start looking to find which team his dad played in.

Misato sauntered in fifteen minutes later, late as usual. "Morning class!" she greeted. She received muffled replies from a few and sheer ignorance from the rest of the class who thought they were too good to greet their teacher. I sat at the front of the class so I could hear Misato muttering, "Ah, another morning with all these preppy bastards and bitches." It made me wonder why she kept coming. In fact, I asked her there and then. "The pay, it's too lucrative not to take," Misato replied. "The Friday nights Shinji…they are far too excellent with the money I've been raking in from this job."

"What does a Friday night usually involve?" I asked, knowing what the answer was already.

"Getting absolutely guttered beyond the point of having the ability to see," Misato replied with a smile. "I have hangovers that last well into the week but it's well worth it."

Misato wasn't an alcoholic. She just loves drinking. That's how Kaji explained her colossal intake of booze. I often spoke to Kaji when he turned up at my home because my father demanded his presence. Kaji worked for my father but I didn't exactly know what he did. He did try to explain it to me one day, but it went above my head completely. Besides me not comprehending his job, Kaji was cooler. He was down to Earth like Misato and that was some respite from the teens in my school who think they owned the Earth. Speaking of such.

"It's Asuka!" one of the girls in the class cried as the redhead made her appearance. Guys pointed, girl's fainted and there was general commotion from everybody bar me and Ayanami. I was sure that she had a theme tune that resembled royal fanfare that played whenever she entered registration, somehow later than Misato. Four guys in our class immediately laid out a red carpet for her to walk that terribly long distance to her desk before another lay a soft cushion with a velvet case over that terribly uncomfortable wooden seat. Those five then attended to her every need which included fanning her, providing her with seedless grapes while moronic fan-girls did her hair and make up for her. It was the usual scene when Asuka turned up in school. The days when she didn't turn up had her fan-boys and girls running about like headless chickens on a treadmill which made me laugh.

I sat there with my arms folded, looking away with a scowl on my face. "Dude, it's Asuka!" Toji cried.

"Yeah, whatever," I said, not bothering to look his way.

"Well, your loss!" Toji said.

"She's soooo hot!" Kensuke cried, wolf whistling as he did. I cringed, and then cringed again because it was all so idiotic. She was just some girl that loved herself too much. She was part of the very reason I hated this school. In fact, she epitomised everything I hated about this school.

Thankfully, registration finished and I hurried out of the class as quickly as humanly possible at a walking pace to get my books out of my locker. And as usual after seeing that whole scene they made over Asuka, I had a scowl locked firmly on my face. I pulled my books quickly and hurriedly out of my locker, slammed it shut and locked it. I turned to my left and much to my annoyance, bumped straight into some moron who wasn't watching where they were going. I even bumped my head which was just great. Now I would get a killer headache as well.

I looked up to see my books all over the floor and then my heart skipped a beat. The person I bumped into was none other than Asuka, most possibly the most popular girl in school. "Ah, sorry," I apologised. I know I despised her, but her reputation did demand respect. As well as that, I didn't want to get the crap kicked out of me by her fan-boys. There was a moment of silence where she was rubbing her forehead where we had knocked together. At that moment, I waited for her posse to jump up and assault me for going with six feet of Asuka. Instead, nobody showed up. Asuka looked up at me and I swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect. "No, I should be sorry!" she said. "I wasn't looking where I was going! Here, let me help you with your things!"

I sat there on the ground in absolute amazement as Asuka Langley Sohryu, the girl who didn't need to do anything at school because there were hoards of people willing to do it for her, _apologised _to me and then _offered to help _me! It was as if the city was attacked by giant monsters things and I was forced to pilot a giant robot to defend the city! I quickly snapped to my senses and gathered some of my books as well. We both stood up at the same time and she handed the books in her hands over with a smile. "Sorry again. I'm just in a world of my own sometimes," she said. "You're Shinji Ikari, right? The one who gets on really well with Miss Katsuragi?"

"Uh…yeah," I replied. How the hell does she know that? I mean, there's no bloody way! It defied belief and left me confoundedly stupefied. "Ah, okay. I was afraid I might get it wrong! Anyway, I've got to run. Take it easy," Asuka said.

"Um, yeah. You take it easy too," I managed to say.

As she turned she gave one last smile before heading off in the opposite direction to me. And right there, I felt like I had been hit by a jumbo jet. My hatred for her seemed so suddenly displaced just because she was so…nice. There was no other word for it. She had been so nice to me just there. And just when my hopes were getting up, I heard someone speaking to her, one of her fan-girls to be precise. "Asuka, are you all right? That guy was sure an idiot to walk right into you!"

"Um…yeah, he was. A real idiot," Asuka agreed.

I was suddenly enraged. Was it all a façade? However, I managed to cool down when I realised the tone of her voice maybe said a different story. Maybe. I wasn't so sure. I wasn't sure whether to be shocked and bemused or hateful and spiteful. And all of a sudden, today wasn't just another day at the Tokyo-3 Academy.


	2. Let's Pretend We Don't Know Each Other

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Evangelion or any of its characters. If I did, then I would have as much money as the Shinji in this story!

* * *

That day didn't end too well for me. One of Asuka's fan-boys threatened to beat the crap out of me and had me up against the lockers. Usually, I would have defended myself but this fan-boy was well over a year older than me and was the captain of the Tokyo-3 Academy rugby team. He had the kind of physique that would put fully mature bull to shame which obviously didn't do much for my chances. I did avoid a beating by acting small and weak. "So you swear you won't ever go near her again you punk-ass bitch?!" the jock cried through clenched teeth.

"Uh, no. I promise," I replied quietly, hoping that he wouldn't rip my blazer just by having his massive fist clenched around it.

"Fine. Keep it that way…punk-ass bitch," the jock warned before setting me down and walking off.

That was the first time in my entire school career that anybody gave me any trouble whatsoever. It seemed that keeping to myself wasn't working anymore, which gave me more reason to want to get as far away from that place post haste. As well as that, it was the fact that I got tangled right into the web of Asuka's influence. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. All I did was bump into her, but that was enough for people to notice and take great offence to me getting near her. I decided that near Asuka was a very bad place to be and it was to be avoided from now on.

I walked home from the school like I usually did. My father did offer me a personal chauffeur and a limousine but I politely declined his offer, not wanting to be like the rest of the pupils at this bloody school. Most did have their own personal limousines and chauffeurs. Some even had personal helicopters that landed on one of the five helicopter landing pads on the roof of the school. There wasn't a runway for private jets but the building of an airstrip was currently in planning. It just made me sicker of people who were daftly rich and were very keen to show it. I didn't like being rich. Sure, there was the advantage of having almost any material possession you wanted, but apart from that, everything sucked.

So here I was, heading off on foot for home. I think I was the only one in that entire school who walked home. Toji had a bicycle, which wasn't bad like having limousines or helicopters but he technically wasn't walking. Kensuke was forced to ride home in a heavily armoured Hummer. Well, I say forced. Kensuke loved it. He has a fascination with anything military. And he was born into the right family to feed his fascination. It's weird; I don't really associate his fascination with the military to his military family, but to Kensuke himself. Maybe I was the only one who didn't care who your parents were at this damn place.

As I walked home, I glanced over down the road and very surprisingly, I saw someone else walking from the school. Usually, people didn't walk past the school gates so when I saw someone else walking when I was walking out of the school, I was surprised. Turned out the person who was walking was Rei Ayanami. If I was honest, I've only ever heard her say ten words and that was when she was answering a question our maths teacher. Even then, her voice was quiet and unremarkable. Her nature made her quite the enigma, to me, anyway. To any other pupil at the Tokyo-3 Academy, she was to be viewed with snobbish antagonism and nothing else.

Rei just happened to be walking my way this day and I wondered why she was walking. "Uh, good afternoon," I greeted as she came up to me.

"Good afternoon, Ikari," she replied.

"Do you usually walk home?" I asked.

"Yes, I do," Rei replied. It was kind of weird how her face remained expressionless as she spoke. There was nothing in her voice at all. Nothing. "I see," I said.

"We are related, are we not, Ikari?" Rei inquired out of the blue.

"Um, yeah. It's distant and it's not by blood but yes, we're related," I replied, surprised by her sudden questions.

"Very well," Rei said. "Thank you for your time, Ikari. I shall be returning home now."

"Uh, okay, no problem," I said. Rei then walked past me without another word and went her separate way. I watched as she walked away and couldn't help but notice how fine her ass was. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have been looking at her like that, but with the fairly short length of our school uniform's skirts, it was hard not to notice. Rei suddenly turned her head towards me and I snapped out of my daze. And I swore I saw the edge of a smile on her mouth.

* * *

Another day. Another morning routine of taking a shower, brushing my teeth, getting dressed, saying good morning to my mum, ignoring my dad and eating my breakfast in front of the 72 inch glass panel television. It was pretty neat. Before you turn it on, it just looks like a random glass panel. After you turn it on, it's a TV. I think every household should have one of these. They're just great.

I wasn't really watching the TV this morning. I had it on to some morning chat show as I ate my cereal but didn't really pay attention too much. As I ate, I heard the slow, deliberate footsteps that only meant my father was approaching me. I tried my best to give him a cold a shoulder as I could muster, but he defeated my attempts by placing his hand on said shoulder. "Shinji," he said slowly. "Your mother and I shall be leaving for a holiday tomorrow to the Barbados. Kaji will watch after you in our absence."

I spat out the cereal in my mouth and cried, "WHAT?!"

"I said…"

"I know what you said dad, but what the hell?!" I yelled indignantly.

"Watch your tone!" my mum called from the kitchen.

"Sorry mother!" I replied as apologetically as I could. "So, father, the holiday, when did this come up?"

"I have managed to sell off my company for three times its original estimated worth," my father said. "Because of this, we are richer than we have ever been, beyond our wildest dreams even and I have decided to go on a holiday with your mother."

"What about me?" I asked.

"Your studies are more important Shinji," he replied in a monotone, pushing his glasses up to his face like he usually did. "The Academy is the best school in Japan Shinji and you have to keep up your education there."

"Whatever," I muttered. I heard my father sigh before he walked away, probably to speak to my mum, telling her to speak to me. As expected, she sat beside me with a smile on her face.

"What's the matter Shinji? Are you unhappy at school?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," I replied.

"Why is that?"

"It's full of stuck-up pompous boys and girls who think being at the academy is another thing to add on their list of why they think they are better than everybody else," I muttered.

"Shinji, you know that you're just making a fuss of something you shouldn't. School is just school, wherever and whatever it is," my mum said. "Your father only wants the best for you."

"By throwing money at the problems?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

My mother sighed before saying, "Shinji, you have a massive advantage over so many kids by going to that Academy. I know that some of the people can be unbearable but it's not just a problem that's exclusive to you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, how do you think I feel when I go to those fancy dinner parties with your father and I have to ask which fork I have to use for my salad? I'm not high society, Shinji. In fact, I'm far from it. I was just a lab assistant when I married your father and I only found out how wealthy he was just before I married him," my mother explained. "And yes, I have met many people where I would take any fork out of the five they give you to drive through their skulls. Gosh, some of them drive me crazy!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," my mum replied with a smile. "Trust me; hang in there. It'll work out much better for you in the end. And you might learn to enjoy school in the long run."

"Pffft. Fat chance of that," I said. "How long are you away for?"

"Two weeks," my mum answered. "Your father wanted to go away for six months on his personal yacht but I had to slap some sense into him! I, unlike him, still have a job to do, as well as keeping an eye on you!"

"Well, all right," I said.

"Now hurry along. You might be late," my mum said.

"Late?" I asked. I checked my watch and literally leaped off of the sofa. "OH CRAP! I AM LATE!!" I cried.

"I anticipated this," my father said. "The limousine is waiting for you outside Shinji."

"You know how I feel about that, dad!" I exclaimed.

"You'll be late otherwise. Now go and get in the limousine before I make you. Just this once because you will be late otherwise," my father said, almost as if it was an order.

In the end, I conceded to his logic. I would have been late had I tried to run. The limousine ride pretty much nullified that possibility. I could see why some of the Academy pupils liked riding in it to school and back every day. It gave you a sense of overwhelming executive power over everyone you drove past. However, it went against my principles and I would have walked in any other circumstance. The ride was a short five minutes from my home. The limousine stopped in the limousine rank of my school and let me out. Yes, that's right; my school has a limousine rank to accommodate for the sheer numbers of limousines that arrive here at the Academy. It's easy to see why this school charges school fees that rank among the highest in the world. It would actually be cheaper to go to the Oxford or Cambridge universities as an overseas medical student than to go to the Tokyo-3 Academy. And that's a fact.

I got out of the limousine and waved to my chauffeur who smiled and waved back. One thing I've learned about being the son of a wealthy man is that all the people that your parents employ are always incredibly nice and amiable. That was one bonus but I can't shake the feeling that they're paid to be nice to you. Once my limo drove off, I was about to head into school when a big, long metallic red limousine pulled up at the limo rank. The rear door opened and out walked none other than Asuka Langley Sohryu. At that moment, I tried to hide so that she wouldn't see me as being around Asuka generally meant trouble, as proved by my close encounter by one of her jock fan-boys yesterday.

"Hey, Shinji, is that you?" she asked. Damn it, I was caught! "Uh, yeah!" I said. I was shocked to see her run up to me. It was the first time I had seen Asuka run for anything in fact. "I never knew you took a limo in," Asuka said.

"I don't usually. I was going to be late so my father just sent me in on a limo," I pointed out nervously. "Normally I just walk in." I can't believe it. She just ran up and started making general conversation! The Asuka I heard about wouldn't go near anybody who wasn't in her posse with a long jump pole. "You walk in? That's interesting. Nobody else walks in that I know of," Asuka said. "I have to take a limo because I live so far out. I wake up early just so I can have a three quarter hour ride just to get to school. My father also refuses to let me go in anything but a limo."

"Rich dads," I muttered. "I find it a bummer."

"Too right," Asuka agreed.

I stopped dead in my tracks at that moment just before I entered through the doors of the school. Asuka walked forward a few steps before stopping and looking back at me. "Shinji? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ah, I'm fine!" I said, catching up to her. "I was just…caught up thinking, that's all."

"Okay," Asuka said with a smile. "I'm still really sorry about bumping into like that. I must have given you a bad headache or something."

"Don't worry about it. It's all in the past," I said. "I'm sure you were hurting just as much as I was."

"Not quite," Asuka chuckled.

We walked towards our registration class, really slowly for some reason. A silence lapsed between us where I found it difficult to say anything. Should I mention what happened with that rugby buff yesterday? Should I point out the fact that I would have reckoned hell would have frozen over the sun before expecting Asuka to make normal conversation with me like this? "You know," I said nervously, "I never expected for you to come up and…uh…"

"Speak to you like this?" Asuka finished.

"Uh, yeah, that's it," I said.

"To cut a long story short, some people say I'm the most popular girl in school, right? I used to enjoy that popularity. In fact, I lived off of it. Now, it just bores me and the people who make a big fuss of me, well, they're all morons," Asuka said. "I'm sick of it all. I want out, but I just don't know how."

I couldn't believe it. Why was she telling me this? The most I've ever done for her is knock her in the head and she was spilling all this to me! "I…I never knew you thought that," I said.

"Most people don't," Asuka said. "You know, I was glad when I bumped into you. You were always one of those guys who didn't give a damn about being rich or peing popular and bumiping into you gave me an excuse to speak to you. After doing so, I've gathered that you're pretty down to Earth, right?"

"Uh, you could say that," I replied slowly.

"That's all right then," Asuka said with a smile. "Say, after we bumped into each other, did anybody try to give you any trouble?"

"Oh, yeah, there was that massive fellow, the captain of the rugby team, to be precise, who had me up against some lockers, threatening to beat me senseless and calling me a 'punk-ass bitch'," I answered.

"I'm sorry about that, really, I am. I can't believe what that numbskull is like!" Asuka said.

"You're apologising on his behalf?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, he isn't going to, is he?" Asuka shot back.

"Fair point," I said. "Do you know the guy?"

"He's asked me out fifteen times in the past six months. I think it's fifteen. It could be more," Asuka said. "I don't even know his name."

"Jeez. I take it that he can't take a hint?" I inquired.

"No," Asuka replied. "Did he hurt you at all?"

"Nah. I managed to plead and beg my way out of it," I replied.

Much to my surprise, Asuka began giggling. "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm laughing! He could have hurt you so badly!"

"It's all right. I let the wimp in me take over," I stated. Asuka then continued laughing even more which surprised me ever more! She really is different than what I've seen and heard about her, which is really quite befuddling. "Not only are you down to earth, you're pretty funny as well Shinji," Asuka said.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm usually just bitter about all the stuck-up rich snobs here but I do occasionally crack jokes."

"And you thought I was one of them?" Asuka inquired.

"Um…yeah…" I said slowly, feeling uncomfortable admitting that.

"It's okay. It's an easy mistake to make," Asuka said reassuringly.

Just as I let my guard down, Asuka suddenly shoved me out to the side and through a door. And to my absolute and utter horror, the door she shoved me through was the girl's toilets! "Asuka! What the hell?!" I asked through the door.

"SSSSHHH!" she sshed. "Stay in there and be quiet!"

"But it's the goddamn girl's toilets!" I said.

"Shit!" Asuka cursed. "Just hold tight, okay?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Just do it!" she snapped. I found myself inside a place I should have never been in, fearing for my life more than anything. Thankfully, there wasn't anybody inside it at the moment but that could change. At that point, I would be utterly screwed.

I summoned any courage I had and listened in at the door. It turned out to be some of Asuka's fan-girls. "Oh…my…god!" said fan-girl number 1. "You're nearly, like, late, Asuka!"

"Come one, you have to, like, come to registration!" said fan-girl number 2.

"I…uh…will do," Asuka said.

"Hurry Asuka so I can, like, do your hair for you. I like, totally love your hair! It's, so like, fabulous!" said fan-girl number 3. At this point, I was struggling not to snicker. "Later okay? I'm just…going to the little ladies room! I'll see you two in class, okay?" Asuka said.

"Okay! Later Asuka!" said fan-girl number 1.

At that point, I was right up against the door and struggling to breathe because I was holding in a laugh. This was what Asuka had to deal with?! It was comical! However, I never caught the significance of her saying 'going to the little ladies room'. She slammed the door open, which in turn flattened me against the wall. "Shinji? Shinji? Where are you?" Asuka asked, holding the door open, which just prolonged my suffering.

"Behind…behind the door," I managed to say.

"AH!" Asuka cried, slamming to door shut to find me in a crumpled heap on the ground. "Are you all right?!"

"No," I said. "I think I broke something."

Obviously, I was all right, but I was in so much pain at that moment that it felt like I broke something. "Come on, I'll help you up," Asuka said. She leant down and helped me to my feet by placing my arm around her shoulder and lifting up. As she did, one of her breasts rubbed ever so slightly against my chest. Being the 16 year old I was, it was contact that I liked, but I had to keep myself under strict control. "There you go," Asuka said once she had me up. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem, and thanks," I said. "Although I do want to know what that was all about."

"Listen, if those crazy bitches saw you with me, then you might find yourselves threatened by more than one jock this time around," Asuka said. "It's for your own good. I'm not meant to have friends outside of that circle apparently."

"You think I'm a friend?" I asked.

"Well, you're definitely something," Asuka laughed. "And I somehow manage to keep hurting you."

"You mean physically crushing me behind a door!" I cried.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad! Aren't you a man?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Half a man now that you have pulverised me with that door!" I exclaimed.

Asuka laughed and slapped me playfully across the shoulder. "Shinji, you really are something else," she said as she laughed. "Now, this is where we part ways. We have to go into registration at different times to prevent suspicion, for your sake."

"Okay, that's fine," I said. "I think I should go first. I'm not meant to be inside a girl's toilet."

"Fine," Asuka said. "I'll just make sure the coast is clear and then you can go. I'll follow on in about a few minutes." Asuka peered out the door before said, "Coast is clear. On you go." I stepped outside and tried to make it look like I hadn't been inside the girl's toilets for the past five minutes. Just before I went, Asuka said, "If anyone asks, this didn't happen, all right? You and I spent no time together this morning."

"Gotcha," I said. I brushed myself off and walked towards my registration class and sauntered in, explaining to Misato and my friends why I was late. I gave them the story about the limo and stuff, nothing to do with Asuka at all. When she entered the classroom, she got her usual morning commotion. She walked past me and we pretended that we didn't know each other. Things would have to stay that way if I was to avoid a beating.


	3. Turns Out She's Smart As Well

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Evangelion. Short and sweet.

* * *

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, and I'm feeling good. Well, that's not exactly true. I was actually very groggy because it was a school morning and I always felt this way on a school morning. I pulled myself out of bed, albeit very reluctantly and went about my morning routine. By beginning my routine, I fell into complacency expecting my morning routine to be completed. Instead, when it came to saying good morning to my mother and ignoring my father, there was no mother to greet and no father to ignore. Instead, there was a man with a ponytail sitting in _my _seat. This was sacrilege! Heresy! That was the part of the sofa where I planted my ass every morning so I could turn on the TV and not quite pay full attention to it.

"Morning Shinji," greeted Kaji as he munched on toast.

"Good…morning," I greeted, not bothering to hide my displeasure.

"Something up, kid?" Kaji asked, seeing the scowl on my face.

"You're in my seat," I said.

"I'm in your seat?" Kaji asked with widened eyes. "Shinji, please, you can take your pick of any of these sofas. Very expensive sofas might I add!"

"Well, it's just that I sit there every morning," I said. "It's part of my routine."

"Adaptability, Shinji," Kaji said. "Routines are good until you need to break from them. Then that's the real test; how you adapt to the ever changing situation."

"So to adapt, I can either sit over there," I said, "OR I can wrestle you out of the seat!"

I've known Kaji since I was 10 and I've always wrestled with him for some strange reason or another. Back then, I found it difficult to win but now, at 16, I was nearly Kaji's height and he didn't find it quite as easy to dispatch me. Still, he won more often than not and I soon found myself in an agonising headlock. "Submit, oh feeble one!" Kaji said with a jolly laugh.

"Eat my ass and balls!" I shot back.

"Oh, now you're going to get it!" Kaji exclaimed. And it did get it. We managed to knock one expensive looking photograph off the wall as Kaji manhandled me from the sofa to the ground before placing me in an excruciating ankle lock.

"Do you give up now, Shinji?" Kaji asked.

"No…never!" I managed to say. Then, Kaji tightened his grip and it was all suddenly too much for me. "All right! I give up! Just let go!" I cried.

"That's more like it," Kaji laughed. "Ah, good times, good times." Kaji extended a hand to help me up which I took in surprisingly good grace. "So, the score stands at 103 – 7," Kaji noted with a chuckle.

"Those 90 times you beat me before was because I was half your damn size!" I cried.

"They still count though!" Kaji laughed. "Come on, get some breakfast, Shinji. You'll need it for another day at the Academy!"

"What I need for the Academy is a loaded rifle," I said.

Kaji chuckled and said, "You wish! Come on, you have a choice of toast, or toast with jam."

"Marvellous selection," I noted dryly.

"You know what I'm like with food," Kaji pointed out.

"Then you should marry someone who can cook," I said. "Not Misato."

Kaji was very well aware of Misato's tendencies to turn the easiest of ready meals into foul and sordid brews that shared similar properties to arsenic. Kaji could only reply to my statement with a laugh before handing me some toast. I began eating immediately because early morning wrestling quickly depleted what energy reserves I did have remaining after using it all sleeping. Meanwhile, Kaji went off to watch the morning sports news. It was always fun being around Kaji because he didn't give a damn about anything. He was like the cool uncle I never had and I would most definitely like to be carefree like him some day. Until then, I had to deal with my patience forever being tested at the Academy.

"What's on at school today?" Kaji inquired.

"A war of attrition," I answered. "Between me and the snobby kids."

"So, you think you're better than them all?" Kaji asked with a smile.

"No, it's not that. I just can't stand the way people are there. I mind my own business and all but after the first year of high school, they just annoyed me and I quickly got fed up of it all," I replied. I've answered this question from Kaji many times before. Maybe he's just checking if my opinion changes at all about the Academy, which it doesn't. "You know," Kaji said, rubbing his unshaven chin as he did, "you didn't say that with as much conviction as you usually say it. You're going soft on the place, aren't you?"

"WHAT?!" I cried. "That's crazy! There's no way after all I've seen that I'd give that place a chance!"

"Well, the tone of your voice, although remote, did tell a different story," Kaji said. "Something's changed, hasn't it? Something's changed to make you feel slightly different about the school, or the people at it, right?"

That was the problem with Kaji. He knew me too well. He even knew me better than my own father for crying out loud! "Um, well, there is a slight change on my opinion of one particular person, but my absolute hatred of that establishment still stands!" I said.

"One particular person, eh?" Kaji inquired. "Willing to name names?"

"Well, remember that person I ranted about a while back?" I asked.

"Hmm, let me see…ah, yeah, that super popular girl. Asuka Langholm Sayuri or something like that," Kaji said.

"Asuka Langley Sohryu," I corrected.

"That's the one," Kaji said. "You said you hated her with a passion because she represented everything that you hated in that Academy, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I said back then," I said.

"And your opinion changed about her?" Kaji said with a smile. "Tell me how."

"It's kind of a long story," I said.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kaji pointed out.

He was persistent for sure. "Well, all right," I conceded. "I literally bumped into her the day before yesterday. Knocked our heads together. It floored the both of us and all my books went all over the floor. I didn't see who it was until I was on the ground and after I did, I was expecting her posse to round me up and give me a firing squad. Instead, she apologises and helps me pick up my books."

"Which is the decent thing to do," Kaji said.

"You don't understand. This girl as so many people tending to her every need that nobody ever sees her doing anything herself. And it doesn't end there. I met her again yesterday at the limo rank and she actually came up to speak to me, something that she's never supposed to do. And it turns out she's, you know, really rather nice and apparently hates her popularity. Then all of a sudden, she shoves me into the girl's toilets…"

"Isn't that a bit keen?" Kaji inquired. "I mean, as long as you used proper protection and everything but…"

"KAJI!!!" I cried. "We didn't do that! Christ, what do you take me for?"

"I don't know. Every time Misato shoves me into some random toilet it's always for one thing," Kaji pointed out.

"Well, this WASN'T for sex, okay?" I said, making sure that Kaji got this loud and clear. "She stayed outside the toilets just because some of her fan-girls were there and if I have been seen with her I would have gotten the crap kicked out of me," I explained.

"Crap kicked out of you? By her fan-girls?" Kaji asked.

"NO!" I cried. "By her rugby buff fan-boys!"

"Ah, now I see," Kaji said. "So, this is a secret friendship you have with her?"

"I don't know if it's quite friendship," I said. "I don't really know what it is."

"I see," Kaji said. "Well, if you make a new friend out of it, then there go you. The whole keeping it secret thing, that's rather interesting. Anyway, you better head on off to school."

"Oh great," I muttered.

* * *

Asuka wasn't in registration which had her posse in absolute disarray. They had no one to follow and worship, therefore their day was ruined for them. I laughed in pity. They seemed so hopeless without her. After registration, I had my first class in the form of physics. We were getting tests back which I held great dread for. I struggled in anything maths related and physics used quite a bit of maths. I blew a sigh of relief once I got my paper back because I got 73 out of 100 which enough for a B grade on this paper. It was better than I usually managed so I was happy. Kensuke got 89 out of 100 which was typical of him and Toji absolutely bombed out, getting a mere 33.

Just as we were about to go over the test, Asuka made her late arrival. Her posse were about to give her the usual queen's welcome but the teacher, Dr Akagi, immediately told them to sit down as soon as Asuka entered. And I swear, when her posse sadly went back to their seats, I saw a smile creep onto Asuka's face. "Here is your paper, Miss Sohryu," Dr Akagi said, handing it over to Asuka.

"Thank you, Doctor," Asuka said. She took her seat one row behind me and I could make out what her fan-girls were saying. "How did you do Asuka?" one of them asked.

"Not so well," Asuka replied.

"Oh, that's okay. There's more to life than tests!"

It made me want to throw things at the fan-girls but I refrained for the time being. I glanced over my shoulder to check what Asuka got but I couldn't quite see. Then, as if reading my mind, she surreptitiously raised her paper ever so slightly so that I could see what she got. And boy was I in for an absolute shock. She aced the test completely. Full marks. She wasn't exactly the type I expected to be brainy, especially at un-cool subjects like physics. And that was completely out of the normal in general. Nobody ever aced tests like that. Some would get good grades but never the ones who claimed to be popular or cool because most people thought they were too good to study. Apparently Asuka though otherwise. That was the last I heard from her as Dr Akagi went over the tests and started us on the thrilling topic of waves and spectra.

Classes came on went and soon it was lunchtime. Toji, Kensuke and I made our way up to the roof which was where we usually hung out at lunchtimes, providing there were no helicopters landing. This was Toji's favourite part of the day by a country mile. "Six sandwiches all made with two slices of wholegrain bread each with a different filling in each. We have cheese and pickle, tuna and cucumber, ham and pineapple, chicken and mayo, BLT and the good old classic peanut butter!" he announced. And my god, was it a sight. The bread slices were much bigger than you would get from your average loaf and by filling, he must have meant 'stuffing' because they all looked ready to explode. "Plus, an entire 2 litre bottle of the finest sparkling lemonade to wash it all down," Toji added with a massive grin on his face.

"Dear lord," Kensuke muttered. "How can you eat that all?"

"Easy!" Toji answered as he munched into his cheese and pickle. Toji, devourer of anything really, kept his superb physique by doing as much sport as possible. That included basketball which was his main one, football (otherwise known as soccer), tennis, track and field stuff and swimming. He did sport as often as he ate, so that cancelled out the amount he ate. Also, he was filling to try any sport such as badminton, volleyball, baseball and even table tennis. There was one sport he did hate with a passion however and that was rugby, mainly because of the buffs in the school. He also said it was because the Japanese rugby team wasn't too great, although I don't think any of Japan's sport's teams do that well in anything.

"So, Shinji, what do you have to eat?" Kensuke asked.

"Uh, leftover toast," I said with a worried look on my face. "Kaji's looking after me for two weeks, so yeah."

"Ah, awesome! Can we go over to yours after school?!" Kensuke asked.

"Uh, well, yeah," I replied.

"Great!" Kensuke exclaimed. Toji and Kensuke thought of Kaji as my cool uncle as well and we've had many great 4 on 4 gaming experiences on the Playstation 4, usually resulting in some sort of disagreement somewhere. It was all good fun however and Kaji very freely allowed us to have fun. He was so unlike my father so I don't know why my father trusted him to look after me. "Did you say Kaji is looking after you?" Toji asked after completely devouring his first sandwich.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Cool! Shinji's place after school it is!" Toji said. I managed a weak smile, knowing that this would happen as soon as they knew Kaji was back in town.

We soon finished our lunches. For Toji, that meant devouring every single mammoth sandwich he had brought with him to school. "Man, I've got to drop the kids off by the pool," Toji said, getting up.

"Agh! Too much information," Kensuke cried.

"Haha. Smell ya guys in a while," Toji said before heading off to obliterate the boy's toilets.

"We better not smell you!" I said. Toji waved flippantly before disappearing from the roof. Then, Kensuke said, "Ah, yeah, those CD's I borrowed from you! I've got them with me today. Want to come with me to get them? They're in my bag."

"Nah, I think I'll just stay up here and chill," I said.

"Suit yourself. I'll bring them up for you anyway," Kensuke said.

"Okay, cool. See you in a bit."

Soon, I was on my own on the roof, watching the clouds pass by over my head. It was times like this that made this place not seem so bad. Of course, there was nobody here but me and the only person who could spoil this was me. That was providing the roof didn't get invaded by unsavoury rich types. As I sat their, I pulled out my MP3 player and selected some good tunes so I could relax the lunchtime away. Just as I picked a song, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I pulled the headphones out of my ears and looked up to see none other than Asuka Langley Sohryu standing over me. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Uh, no, go ahead," I said.

"I managed to escape from everybody following me. It's not easy, I tell you," Asuka said as she sat beside me.

"How'd you find me?" I inquired.

"I just thought of the first place that would make you as far away from everybody else as possible," Asuka replied.

"I see," I said. "I saw your score for that physics test."

"You didn't see, silly. I showed you!" Asuka pointed out. "Now you can see me for who I really am!"

"Clever?" I asked.

"Yup, that's me. Brilliant as ever!" Asuka cried. "If there's something you shouldn't be modest about, then that's having a good head on your shoulders!"

"You don't sound too modest about it," I said.

"Well observed!" Asuka laughed. "You know, it isn't so bad up here. Kind of takes me away from everybody. They all expect me to act in a certain way and be a certain way and I just don't know how to escape from it all."

"Just tell them you're not what think," I suggested.

"Don't think I haven't tried," Asuka said.

The thing is, was she really trying? It didn't seem much like it. From how I saw it, she was half and half. A part of her wanted out of the popularity and endless attention and stuff. Another part longed to keep it. It was a weird mix and there were most probably two sides to Asuka. Thankfully, I seemed to always see the better side. "Do we really have to keep the fact that we speak to each other under wraps?" I asked.

"If you don't want beaten, then yes," Asuka replied.

"Why don't you just tell them not to beat me?" I inquired.

"These are big style jocks we're dealing with me. They wouldn't listen," Asuka said. "And besides, isn't it kind of cool keeping a secret?"

"I guess it is," I said. "Still, it's not the best way to go about things."

"I know. It isn't ideal," Asuka said. "You know, I don't really know why I always keep speaking to you. Maybe it's because you think differently from most the people here."

"Ah, really, you think?" I asked sardonically.

"Oh fine then!" Asuka said with a laugh. "Be like that!"

"I will then oh almighty Queen of the Academy," I said.

"Queen of the Academy, eh? I like that title. Care to bestow it upon me?"

"I just did, your highness, oh Miss Popularity," I said.

"Shinji, you're an idiot!" Asuka added with a chuckle. "I'm going to have to smack you one if you carry on like that."

"Struck by royalty? One should never do such things!" I said in my best posh accent.

"Okay, now you're going to get it!"

I didn't expect for her to actually get up and actually try to hit me. I couldn't fight back because she was a girl and the only thing I could do, albeit highly cowardly, was to run away. "Hold still you idiot so I can hit you!" Asuka cried.

"Eh, no way!" I shot back. It was all incredibly surreal. Asuka and I were running about, acting like little kids on the roof of the most prestigious high school in all of Japan. And you know what? It was fun. It was one of those few times I reckoned I could look back on and say, 'Yeah, I had fun back at that time at the Academy'. However, it was quickly cut short by the reappearance of Toji and Kensuke. "What the hell?!" Toji cried. "Isn't that Asuka Langley Sohryu?!"

"It is!" Kensuke exclaimed. "What the hell is she doing with Shinji?!"

"Uh, your friends?" asked Asuka, who had stopped dead in her tracks along with me.

"Um, yeah," I said. "I kind of forgot that they would be coming back."

It took a lot of explaining to get the situation across to Toji and Kensuke who remained absolutely confounded with astonishment. "So Shinji, you're meaning to tell me that you are friends with _the_ _most popular_ girl in school, all because your bumped your heads together?" Toji asked in absolute surprise.

I sighed and said, "Yeah, something like that."

"I still can't believe it," Kensuke said.

"Well, you better," Asuka said. "As well as that, you two better keep this under wraps, or else your asses are on the line."

"Yeah, yeah, we know, the whole fan-boy beating up thing," Toji said. "Although if they find out that Shinji's been in your fifty metre exclusion, then how could any harm possibly come to us?"

"You two are guilty by association," Asuka warned. "And if you two are the ones to spill it, then I'll make sure that you two get a piece of the beating."

"Okay, fine," Kensuke said. "It's just I don't really get it. Trying to keep a blossoming friendship behind closed curtains?"

"Sorry, it's complicated," Asuka said. "And sorry about all the threats as well."

"Nah, it's all right. Keeps us in check, I guess," Toji said.

However, I wasn't so sure about Asuka and I being friends would stay much secret for longer. Two people already know and when more than the people keeping the secret knew, then it was no longer a secret. Despite my fear of a beating, I kind of wanted this knowledge that the most popular girl in school associated herself with me. I think that knowledge would shake the very foundations of the high school hierarchy and stir a change, possibly even a revolution within the Tokyo-3 Academy. However, Asuka wanted this kept a secret and the least I could do was respect that.


	4. An Offer From The Man

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. There, I said it!

Author's Note: Yeah, the wait for this chapter was about 15 times as long as the wait for the last one. A thousand apologies, but I was working on another story of mine, "Shinji Almighty". Excuses, you say? Sorry again. The reader is always right!

* * *

Walking to school. I took it one step at a time and they were usually slow, reluctant steps. I mean, who would willingly want to spend 6 hours of their day inside the Tokyo-3 Academy? I don't know, maybe I'm being a bit over the top. I've been getting that feeling lately and I can't help but make a connection towards Asuka. Because I'm warming up to her, will that inevitably lead me to warm up to this god-awful establishment? The utter thought of it was ghastly, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to not be as bad as I always made out. Then again, there was always the part of me that told the other part that I was going soft and not only in my head.

It was definitely a strange situation to be in. Not my stance on the establishment, but rather how things were panning out with Asuka. She seemed to appear at the most random moments to stop for a chat. Don't get me wrong, that was always fine by me, but recently she's been allowing me to see more of what she's really like. At first, Asuka was just being nice because she saw me as a means to escape the stranglehold popularity had poised on her. Now, after spending a bit of time with her, I've come to learn that she's quite cocky. Well, that's probably an understatement.

"Aw, come on Shinji!" she had said yesterday. "You don't actually think that anybody could do better than me on that maths test?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" I had replied most foolishly.

"Idiot! I can't believe you said that!" she retorted, rather loudly at that. Despite my misgivings, it was all in jest, I suppose. And calling me an 'idiot' is turning into a habit of hers but again, I guess none of it is serious. Well, I think it isn't serious. I suppose she does just move on the conversation after berating me so I assume it's not all bad.

I continued on my way at a snail's pace because I left the house fairly early and didn't want to arrive at school any sooner than I needed to be. My mp3 player helped me along with that task and I took my time sifting through songs. As I approached a crossing in the road, I glanced towards my right and saw none other than Rei Ayanami also making her way towards the Academy on foot. I removed the headphones from my ears as she approached and greeted her as amiably as I could. "Good morning, Rei." It doesn't get any more amiable than that.

"Morning," she replied before yawning. "Are you well?"

"As well as I could be travelling to that darned school," I replied with a weak smile.

"Ah, I see. You do not enjoy your schooling there," Rei said.

"Hell no!" I exclaimed, making my view known.

"I do not enjoy it either," Rei said.

I was about to speak, but I was left with my mouth open with nothing coming out of it. What she had just said had just struck me and it struck me like a hammer. Rei did not like the Tokyo-3 Academy and I would have never known it from her stoic, silent demeanour. She glanced towards me as we waited for the traffic lights to turn green so we could walk across the busy street ahead of us. "Is anything the matter?" Rei inquired. It was then I realised I still had that bamboozled expression on my face. "Uh, no, nothing!" I said. "I just…well, never figured that you disliked the Academy."

"Well, I feel it does not live up to its reputation as an educational establishment. For the amount of money that school receives, the quality of education should be far higher. That is my view, anyway," Rei said. "Why do you dislike it so?"

"For me, it's the people," I replied. "Snobby upper class kids. Well, actually, I guess there's nothing wrong with snobby upper class kids but at the academy, the snobby upper class kids like to show that they're snobby upper class kids and I find that incredibly obnoxious and annoying."

"I see," Rei said. "I do not converse much with the other pupils, so I would not know."

"I don't really either, I have my own bunch of pals, but it's just the way they go on!" I said, not realising that the lights had just gone green. "Ooh, look at me, I worked for nothing I have and I'm going to be a greedy snob and act like I'm better than everyone else! Yeah, sure, if you're born into a rich family, you can't help being rich but being greedy and thinking that you don't have enough stuff?! That's just…"

"Shinji," Rei said quietly.

"…unbelievable! And then they have the nerve to propose they they're in a higher class of humanity. If it were up to me, they would be in the lowest of the low, and screw anybody who disagrees!"

"Shinji, the lights have gone green," Rei pointed out.

"Ah," I said.

Much to my embarrassment, there were several girls from the Academy walking past, some of them turning towards me during my outburst. I was hoping that they didn't know who or what I was talking about but then again, there wasn't much chance of that. I walked across the road hurriedly with Rei in tail "Are you feeling well, Shinji? Your face has gone red," Rei said.

"It's nothing, Rei," I said, trying to hide my awkwardness at the situation. I slowed down once we had crossed the road and put some distance between me and those girls that walked past me at the crossing. By this time, Rei had deduced what had just transpired. However, she didn't say anything about it and continued to accompany me towards school.

"Rei," I said, "how is it that you don't really speak much? I mean, from what I've seen of you."

"It was because of when I was young," Rei answered. "I was deaf and mute for the first few years of my life. When I turned 6, I began to hear and I ended up learning to speak very late on. Because of those years, I grew accustomed to not speaking much, if at all." It seemed a fair enough reason, although in explaining why she didn't speak much, she ended up speaking quite a bit and it was certainly the most I've heard her speak. "But saying that, wouldn't not being able to speak make you want to speak even more?" I asked.

"That was most likely a possibility, but like I said before, I grew accustomed to silence," Rei replied.

And that was quite the conversation killer, with quiet ensuing after that. I would have never thought the subject of not talking would quite have that effect to be perfectly honest. I struggled to find something to get us talking again because silence never seemed to be an indicator of something positive. "Where about do you stay?" I inquired; glad to have thought of something.

"The Ayanami Townhouse," Rei replied. "My father is the CEO of a major retail chain."

"Oh, all right. I think I know were you are," I said. To be perfectly honest, there was no 'think' about it. There was a big deal when the Ayanami's moved into town and bought an entire five story building, having it renovated and dubbing it the 'Ayanami Townhouse'. Rei's father was most likely in the top three richest men in Japan. That was four years ago, just as I was starting at the Academy which would also have the extreme honour of schooling the daughter of the Ayanami's, the new arrival in town. Rei ended up arriving at school with everybody expecting her to be a big deal. Instead, she sat at her desk, said nothing and began staring out of the window. And it was like that ever since.

It made me wonder why I asked Rei where she lived if I knew already. I must have really been desperate to strike up conversation. "Where do you stay?" Rei asked.

"The Shogoki Apartments," I replied. "On the top floor. It's pretty nice. Good view."

"I see," Rei said. "Here we are, at the Academy."

I hadn't noticed that we have been approaching the Academy and was annoyed that I had gotten here quicker than I would have wanted to. And I couldn't use the fact that I was speaking to Rei as an excuse because, well, we weren't speaking that much. We walked up to the main door and as soon as I walked in, I saw Asuka, standing there. "Morning idiot!" she greeted amiably. However, all of that disappeared when she saw Rei. "Morning Asuka," I said.

"You brought a friend?" Asuka asked sharply.

"Huh, what do you mean?" I asked.

Asuka extended her arm toward Rei with an annoyed looked on her face. I didn't know what she had to be annoyed about. Rei, on the other hand, glanced over towards Asuka before walking off on her own without saying a word. "Well?" Asuka asked.

"Well what?" I asked straight back.

"What were you doing with Ayanami?" Asuka said.

"I met her on the way to school and I figured I would walk up with her, you know, and see if she would say something," I explained.

"I bet she had a lot to say," Asuka said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Just…whatever!" And like that, Asuka about faced and walked off, leaving me in a state of utter disbelief. "So I'll speak to you at lunch then," I said as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

"…and just like that, she turns around and walks away. I don't get it," I said, finishing off my story. I was stood in front of my locker with Toji and Kensuke. It was a change of period and we found some time to waste before our next class. "Shinji, Shinji, Shinji," Toji said with a nod of his head. "You are so frickin' naïve! Can you not see that she so obviously likes you?"

"Likes me?" I asked.

"You know, like, fancy, want, desire and other assorted synonyms?" Kensuke said.

"Oh wait, no, there's no way!" I exclaimed.

"All the signs point to one thing. She was obviously jealous that you were with another girl," Toji said.

"What, you mean Rei? I met her walking to school! It's not like I'm seeing her or anything!" I said.

"Shinji, do you know nothing about womankind? With them, you're guilty by association with another of the opposite sex," Toji pointed out.

"What would you know about girls, anyway?" I shot back.

"I happen to know quite a bit, as a matter of fact," Toji said proudly with his arms folded.

"Please. You and that Hikari girl are so much like headless chickens! You can't even admit that you like each other!" Kensuke cried.

"What? You mean Hikari Horaki, the class rep?! That's unbelievable! Unbelievably hilarious!" I cried while bursting out laughing.

"Well, I mean, ah, that's a different story all together!" Toji said rather weakly in his defence. "The fact of the matter and the current issue at hand is that Asuka most definitely wants you, Shinji!"

"Asuka and me?! That's like…an oxymoron!" I yelled, trying to knock some sense into Toji's thick skull.

"Oxymoron?" Toji asked.

"Juxtaposition of opposites," Kensuke explained.

"Juxtaposition?" Toji asked once more.

"My god, do you ever pay attention in class, even just a bit?" Kensuke inquired.

Toji shot out an almighty finger and held it out in front of our bespectacled companion. "That…is not the issue at hand. The issue we are facing, my friends, is that the most popular girl in school most definitely likes Shinji and Shinji's naivety is most certainly getting in the way of his better judgement!"

"Toji…what the hell?!" I cried in absolute shock and awe.

"Let's be honest, what could he do?" Kensuke said, semi-agreeing with me.

"Ask her out, that's what!" Toji declared.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I screamed.

"He's lost it all right," Kensuke said, this time fully agreeing with me. "Well, Toji does have some sense, actually." I guess he wasn't agreeing with me.

"Not you as well, Kensuke!" I bawled.

"In the situation, it seems the only logical thing to do. And besides, she is class A babe all the way," Kensuke said. "Top of class A might I add."

"See? Kensuke thinks so as well," Toji said, triumphantly at that.

"Look guys, I AM NOT ASKING HER OUT!" I cried at the top of my voice, much to the surprise of both my friends.

Little did I know that they weren't surprised at me raising my voice, but rather the fact that Asuka was standing right there during my final outburst. "You're not asking who out?" Asuka inquired with a cocked eyebrow and her arms on her waist, looking expectantly at me for an answer.

"Uh, nobody…" I began to say.

"REI!" Toji and Kensuke both cried to my absolute and insurmountable horror.

"Rei?" Asuka asked, now looking rather pissed off.

There was nothing for me to do but play along, "Uh, yeah, Rei. I was just telling the guys I wasn't going to ask Rei out. I mean, why would I want to, I've got no reason or anything and I, uh, you know, because of, that, and stuff, I, well, didn't have any, uh, well, you get the picture."

"Really?" Asuka asked, edging up to the three of us, looking rather evil.

"Um, yeah," I replied meekly.

Then, like a sudden changing of seasons, the scowl disappeared off of her face and she suddenly was bright and bubbly. "Well, okay, thanks for sharing that! Listen, I've got to run, what with keeping this friendship with Shinji a secret from my crew and all. See ya!" Asuka then walked off with a renewed bounce in her step. One she vanished from sight, I looked to both my left and to my right and I saw Toji and Kensuke with looks of terror on both of their faces. "Did you see the look on her face?!" Kensuke cried.

"Is she frickin' bipolar or something?" Toji added tastefully. "First, she pins us up to the lockers, looking like a Nazi interrogator or something and then she's suddenly Miss Happy! What the hell?!"

"Toji, she's a German. Watch the racial slurs," Kensuke chided quietly.

"Holy crap, she is! I shouldn't have made that Nazi remark!" Toji said, thumping the palm of his hand off of his forehead.

"That's right, you shouldn't have," Kensuke said. "It's highly offensive, plus, with her status in the Academy Hierarchy, it would most likely lead to you getting your head kicked in if it were heard by the wrong people."

While they were discussing the lopsided social systems of our high school, I was stood there, looking highly unimpressed. Toji turned to face me and saw my look of unimpressed-ness. "Is something the matter Shinji?" Toji asked.

"Why the hell did you guys say Rei when I was trying to answer her?" I asked right back.

"Why do you think? To improve your chances!" Kensuke cried,

"Chances of what?" I inquired furthermore.

"Jesus, this boy really is the most naïve of them all! Your chances of getting with Asuka!" Toji explained.

"But…"

"No buts! Shinji, she likes you! That sudden change of mood once you told her that you weren't interested in Rei is a dead giveaway!" Toji said.

I was about to say something but we were hounded towards our next class by none other than the class rep herself. Toji received many chuckles from both Kensuke and I from behind his back. However, it didn't really help to keep my mind from what those two had been saying about Asuka. Did I really stand a chance?

* * *

Lunchtime. I saw Asuka walking towards me in the corridor so I tried to go up and speak to her. Before I even got within six feet of her, I was held up by my shirt collar against the door of a science lab. "Well, if it isn't the punk-ass bitch?" Oh great, this buffoon. This moronic rugby buff that saw fit to impose himself as Asuka's personal bodyguard. Might I add that Asuka doesn't even know his name? I was beginning to get very angry at the buff but soon, I became angry with myself. I had just realised that I tried to walk up to Asuka as her entourage were surrounding her and making their officious way through the school. More pressing was that I stood a good chance of getting my ass handed to be on a platter with my balls as a side dish. "Not much to say for yourself?" the buff asked tauntingly. "Well, you better start explaining yourself before I dominate you and mess you up!"

"I was, uh, just walking," I offered pathetically. The pussy in me took over in situations just like this. "Just walking? That ain't good enough, punk-ass bitch! You almost walked in Asuka's air. You wouldn't want to deprive her of her air, would you?" the buff asked, moving his large face closer to my shivering, cowering one.

"Uh, no," I replied. I was hoping for Asuka to stand up for me but she had been hushed away by her fan-girls before she could say or do anything, leaving me to deal with her fan-boys on my own, which, you know, gave me no odds whatsoever. You had better chances of discovering the meaning of life than trying to battle out of this.

"Yeah, that's right punk-ass bitch!" the buff cried, slamming me against the lockers once more, rather painfully at that. "Now, I've had to deal with you once before for being in Asuka's air. Now that I'm dealing with you a second time, the first message I gave you mustn't have worked so well. This time, me and the boys will have to be a little more, 'firm', about things, don't you think?" I winced as I heard the sounds of knuckles and neck bones cracking. I could almost feel their punches already. All this for walking in the wrong place at the wrong time. I really hate this school.

"What do you think you are doing? Unhand that boy, now!" cried the person I least expected out of anybody; Headmaster Fuyutsuki. The buff let out a low growl before letting me go, albeit as roughly as he could. "Come on boys, let's move," the buff ordered before he and his 'boys' followed him away. I was sat there on the ground, saved from an impending beating by none other than the headmaster of the school who was a person you rarely ever saw out and about in the corridors. I just reckoned he spent most of his time counting the masses of money the school still managed to make, even with its gargantuan spending.

"You are Shinji Ikari, in Miss Katsuragi's registration class, is that correct?" the Headmaster asked sternly.

"Yes sir, I am," I replied, trying to regain my composure. Composure was the only thing I could get back. Dignity was out of the question. That was all out of the window. "Very well. Follow me to my office." I was stunned. I nearly get pummelled to within an inch of my life and the Headmaster tells me to go to his office?! What the hell is wrong with this school? Where is the justice in that?

I soon found myself in the massive Headmaster's office, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Headmaster Fuyutsuki to take his seat and speak to me. I was sat in front of his desk, which was a giant mahogany executive beast of a desk. It was the kind of desk that appeared cheaper to make by gluing bank notes together to the shape of a desk. The entire office seemed made of money. Behind his desk were massive ceiling length windows that provided a cracking view of Tokyo-3. Everything you'd expect from the Headmaster's Office in an establishment like the Tokyo-3 Academy.

Headmaster soon made his reappearance with a mug of coffee in his hands. I could smell it as he walked past and it just smelt incredible. It was probably the kind of coffee where skilled labourers sift through tonnes of coffee beans and hand pick only the finest to be grounded into the finest, most aromatic and sensually pleasing blend. He took his seat in front of me and took a sip, causing me to yearn for that coffee. I had to keep myself under control, however.

"Mr Ikari," Headmaster Fuyutsuki said, "that pupil who had you pinned up against that door is the son of the mayor of Tokyo-3. His person is untouchable. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

I was flabbergasted, "What? Is that it?"

"I'm afraid so," Fuyutsuki replied.

"That's elitism of the highest order! That's years of social equality and security gone to pot! That's…that's…that's stark raving mad!" I yelled, not caring that I was in the presence of the headmaster.

"Yes, it is all of that, Mr Ikari, but unfortunately, that is just how it is. There is honestly nothing more I can do for you other than explain to you why I can do nothing more for you," Fuyutsuki said, trying to remain the voice of reason.

"I can't believe it," I muttered.

"I apologise, Mr Ikari, but the only think I can advise you to do is avoid Asuka Langley Sohryu and her crowd. I do not know why they kick up such a fuss over that girl and that fuss has been my main cause of grief for quite a while now. Usually, I would just speak to the girl but I've not been able to get to her because of all the people around her," Fuyutsuki explained.

"I speak to her quite often. Actually, I'm quite good friends with her," I said out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" Fuyutsuki asked with a look of surprise on his face. "Mr Ikari, have you been smoking marijuana?"

"What? No sir, I haven't! I just said Asuka and I are pretty good friends! Why is that so hard to believe?" I said.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Fuyutsuki inquired.

"Yes sir, the whole and honest truth!" I reiterated.

"Hmm…"

I could see it on his face. The man was plotting and the worst part of it all was that I was somehow going to be included in his plot and if not, then in the grander scale of things. It was inevitable. "If that is the case, Mr Ikari," Fuyutsuki said, "then I have a job for you. It is completely up to you whether you do this or not. Should you choose to accept it, then the plan is as follows: use your ties to Asuka in infiltrate her syndicate and once you're in, dissolve it from the inside, using any means available to you. I cannot have any problems in this school and her ring is most certainly one."

"It's not really Asuka's syndicate, so to speak. She wants out of it as well," I pointed out.

"All the better. That makes your job so much easier, doesn't it?" Fuyutsuki said.

"I guess. But what's in it for me?" I asked.

"Asuka, of course. You get to have a blossoming relationship with her while I get my tenth consecutive 'perfect' report from the Ministry of Education. Everybody's happy," Fuyutsuki explained.

"Blossoming relationship?! Why does everybody think that?" I cried.

"Maybe you misunderstood me, Mr Ikari, but that is far beside the point. The question is; are you going to accept my little 'extra-curricular' assignment?" Fuyutsuki inquired.

By accepting, I would officially be working for 'the man', which wasn't cool but figuring that I knew Asuka, I guess it wouldn't be so bad this time around. The school could do without those buffs making a huge fuss over Asuka and freeing her from the trap that popularity set around her. So what if I'm bowing into the establishment? Life is about compromise.


	5. I Think You Hurt Her Feelings

**Disclaimer: **I would like to take this oppurtunity to say that...well, I didn't make Evangelion.

* * *

"Kaji," I said.

"Huh? What is it Shinji?" Kaji inquired, looking over to me.

"You can let go of me now," I said. The two of us had wrestled over the last piece of toast and typically, Kaji managed to get me in a headlock and held me there until I was literally bored into submission. "I guess you've learnt your lesson, eh Shinji?" Kaji said with a chuckle. Just to emphasis his utter domination over me, he tossed the last remaining fragment of his toast into his mouth and made a big deal of savouring every last morsel of it. I, on the other hand, had to eat a horrible bran cereal that only my mother ever ate and even at that, my mother eating this bran cereal was quite a rare occurrence in this household. I was still in a headlock whilst I was eating it, might I add, which goes to show that food is food and breakfast is breakfast; you've got to have it no matter what.

Instead of that usual morning chat show that I always put on but never really watched, Kaji had the news channel selected on the TV. I had struggled to watch the news as well for the reasons stated above but the odd interesting glimpse of a story caught my eye every now and then, mostly when Kaji loosened his grip just slightly, enough so that I could have a little bit of freedom. The sports reports were on and for the first time ever, I saw Toji's dad's football team in action, even if it was just quick highlights. They drew the match 1-1, which is a fair score I guess, because they were playing against the defending league champions. I have no idea if any of this is true because I don't pay any attention to this stuff whatsoever and I'm just going by what the sports anchor had to say.

Soon, the time approached for me to leave and trudge out of my home toward school. As I got up the door bell rang. This in itself was curious because firstly, it wasn't time for the postman and secondly, nobody ever came to the Ikari household at this time. I glanced towards Kaji who in his great idleness didn't even budge an inch. He obviously wanted me to get the door. When I opened it, I was treated to a bit of a shock. Right there, outside my front door, was Rei Ayanami. "Good morning, Shinji," she greeted. "Are you ready to go to school?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, peering back towards Kaji who was no longer sitting on the sofa. Maybe he had gone to the toilet.

"Ah! You must be one of Shinji's friends!" cried Kaji who mysteriously appeared behind me. I guess that meant he wasn't in the toilet. I had hoped to get away before Kaji spotted Rei because I knew that if he did, I would never hear the end of it. "Yes, I am one of Shinji's classmates," Rei replied in her usual fashion. "I have just come to accompany Shinji to school."

"Oh, really?" Kaji asked before looking across to me with a coy grin. It was utterly cringe-worthy. "Are you Shinji's father?" Rei asked next. I assumed it was out of absolute naivety because I was sure there was no resemblance between Kaji and I. "Me? Oh no! I'm just taking care of Shinji while his parents are away on holiday," Kaji said. "The name's Ryoji Kaji."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Rei Ayanami."

I saw Kaji's expression change when he heard the surname. The Ayanamis were a big deal. "Well, I shouldn't hold you two back any longer. It was very nice meeting you Rei," Kaji said.

"Indeed," Rei acknowledged.

"I'll just be right out," I said to Rei, knowing that I needed to have a very stern word with Kaji. From the look on his face when I approached him, he most definitely wished to have a quick exchange with me as well, but of the less serious type. "Shinji! I can't believe you've got it going on with Ayanami's daughter!" Kaji exclaimed with a huge goofy grin on his face.

"Listen, it's not what you think!" I cried.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say!" Kaji persisted.

"But it really isn't! I wasn't expecting her to come and get me this morning!" I shot out. "We aren't involved in any way, shape or form, you got that?!"

"Whoa, easy, I'm just winding you up!" Kaji said, standing back with his hands up. "You're so easy to get to sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, whatever. I'll see you after school," I said as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

"Sure thing. Have fun now."

I stepped outside my door and found Rei waiting for me outside my door. She clutched her small satchel with both hands in front of her, looking ever the diligent pupil. To be honest, I didn't know too much about her grades at school, due to the fact that she never told anybody and that nobody ever cared enough to ask. I was an average student; my strongest subject was procrastination. Okay, I know that isn't a real school subject but if it was I would get straight A's all year. The smartest person I had known up until know had been Kensuke who was very maths and science savvy but it turns out that Asuka is incredibly intelligent as well. She doesn't let on and she had me fooled for a very long time.

Now on the more pressing matters, such as why Rei turned up at my door? I mean, I never asked her if she wanted to walk to school with me and I never thought she was the type who would go out and do something like this. "Shall we go?" Rei asked in her usual, quiet monotone.

"Yeah, sure," I replied, trying to hide my uneasiness.

"Very well." Rei headed off to the elevator and I followed her, wondering what to make of all this. There was a silence between us which was awkward for me, but I guess it must have just been normal for Rei. "So, uh, what gives Rei?" I blurted out of the blue. I immediately regretted the way that I worded that question so crudely and I was afraid that I offended her. However, Rei gave no such indication. Instead, she looked over to me and gave me her usual look of apathy. "I assumed it would be reasonable for me to accompany you to school. Does this arrangement not work for you?" she said.

Rei made everything she said sound so official, serious and did so with boredom inducing deadpan. I had no means of dealing with such pragmatism. "No, it's fine. Let's just go," I said, not having anything else in the arsenal of my vocabulary to say to her. We walked in silence with me not knowing what the hell to say and Rei not actually wanting to say anything. I felt slightly uneasy at this all and it wasn't helped by the lack of speaking between us. Somehow, Rei managed to say something, "Are you aware that the preparations for the annual inspection from the board of education are beginning today?"

"Damn, so they are! The inspections are fine, it's just the lengths the headmaster goes to in order to make his school perfect," I moaned.

"Yes, it is a nuisance," Rei said. "I have better things to do than to endlessly clean."

This sparked my attention, "Oh? Like what?"

"I do enjoy reading," Rei said.

"Reading, huh? What books you into?" I asked, not really knowing anything at all about literature beyond the typical magazines a 16 year old would buy.

"I am currently on page 1295 of the Japanese translation of Tolstoy's _War and_ _Peace_. It is quite an interesting book thus far. I have also read Steven Hawking's _A Brief History of Time_, all the _Harry Potter _novels and many other books of a number too vast to list," Rei said. "The one book I cannot stand is _The Da Vinci Code_ by Dan Drown."

Now there was one book I had actually read. "Huh? What's wrong with _The Da Vinci Code_?" I asked.

"It is utter garbage," Rei said, which was fair enough. It was her opinion which was to be respected. As for myself, I saw nothing wrong with _The Da Vinci Code_. "What about yourself. Do you indulge in reading?" Rei inquired.

"I'll be honest; the only novel, so to speak, I've ever read was _The Da Vinci Code_," I said.

"Then you require an expansion of your reading material. It is good for the mind, reading," Rei said.

"Maybe I do," said, half-heartedly agreeing with her. "But surely you have other interests apart from reading?"

"I also enjoy interior decorating and fashion design," Rei replied as-a-matter-of-fact.

"Interior decoration…and fashion design?" I asked, very much at a loss for words.

"They are hobbies that I have picked up off of my mother," Rei replied.

Before I could say anything else, a red limousine stormed in from behind us and screeched to a halt right beside me. The read door opened and a pair of arms managed to grab me and pull me inside, even though I'm sure human arms could never grow to be that length! The door I just went in from violently slammed to a shut and when a turned around, I saw a very, very pissed off looking Asuka. "AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING??" she cried. At that moment, I wet myself, just a little bit.

"Uh…wh-wh-what do you mean, Asuka?" I asked, incredibly foolishly.

"What do you mean?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN??" was the enraged response.

"Miss Sohryu, I am not supposed to park here," said Asuka's chauffer.

"Manfred, father has enough to pay millions of parking tickets over! Where you have stopped the car is the least of our concerns!" Asuka yelled.

"I am simply pointing out the situation, Miss Sohryu," the driver, Manfred, as Asuka called him, said in a hurt tone.

"Listen, I'm sorry for yelling at you, Manny," Asuka said.

"It's quite all right dear," Manfred replied.

After that random exchange, Asuka returned her full attention to me. "So, are you going to explain yourself?!" Asuka asked, closing the gap between herself and I very quickly and boy, did she look angry.

"Explain…what?" I offered weakly.

"EXPLAIN WHY YOU'RE BUMBLING ABOUT WITH MISS ICE QUEEN!" Asuka roared.

"Oh…that," I chuckled feebly. "This isn't my fault. Rei came up to my door unexpectedly and asked if we could walk to school." Then, I began to grow a pair and spoke up. "But on the other hand, why am I even mentioning blame? It's not like I've even done anything wrong!" I should have stopped right there, because that would have placed me in the right. However, I stupidly continued. "Is it wrong for me to walk to school with someone else, even though this time it was impromptu? It's not as if we share some unbreakable bond where we can't speak to other people. It's not as if you keep that end of this so-called bargain anyway, Miss Popularity Queen!" There was utter silence expecting from the deceptively loud, quickening breathing of Asuka. "Shinji…get out of the car," said Asuka.

"What?" I said.

"Shinji…I said…GET OUT OF THE CAR!!"

The entrance from which I came in quickly became my emergency exit. The door flew open and Asuka literally tossed me out of the car and I headed face first for the hard concrete of the pavement. My time in flight seemed like it was in slow motion and I was sure I could see people further along the pavement staring at me. I saw Rei, looking incredibly unimpressed. I could even see a dog taking a pee by a fire hydrant gawking at me. This was before I even hit the ground. When I did, there was an almighty crash and I immediately felt the face envelop my face. The instant after I touched down, the limousine door slammed shut and it drove off at a rapid pace. "Argggghhh…" I groaned, feeling intense pain.

"You must have displeased Asuka greatly," Rei noted.

"No shit Sherlock," I muttered as I steadily rose to my feet. I was clutching my head as I did and I was sure I was bleeding profusely. As soon as I took my hand off, a jet of blood sprayed out from my forehead. "AAAAHHHH! I'M BLEEDING!!" I yelled before slapping my hand straight back over the wound.

The still unimpressed looking Rei raided around in her bag for a moment before saying, "Take your hand off of there."

"Have you seen how much I'm bleeding from there?!" I yelled. "I must have internal bleeding, or brain damage, or both!"

"Just do it," Rei said quietly, although not without authority. I reluctantly released pressure on my head wound and before any more blood could spray out Rei slapped two plasters on my forehead, forming the shape of a cross on my head. "There, that should stop the bleeding," Rei said in her usual tone of voice.

"Uh, thanks Rei," I said. "But uh, why do you carry band-aids around in your bag?"

"My father instructs me to always carry a first aid kit in my school bag. I was prone to slips and falls when I was younger," Rei explained.

"I see."

I rubbed my head and wondered how I managed to get myself in this mess. It was definitely something I said this time, yet what I said, in my view, wasn't enough to make Asuka go crazy like that. So what was it then? "Are we to continue toward school, then?" Rei inquired.

"Uh, I guess so," I replied, continuing down the pavement, receiving glances from passers-by who had seen the incident. Rei remained indifferently silent as we walked, which was just splendid. I was hoping for some kind of reassurance, or light conversation at least. The latter came soon in the form of a question. "How is your wound?" Rei asked.

"It's fine now, since it's been patched up," I answered.

"I think," Rei began, before pondering her words for a moment. "I think you should apologise to Asuka."

It was a shocking revelation to hear Rei get off the fence and not give an unbiased opinion. Still, it was an opinion that didn't favour me at all. "You think I should apologise? I don't even know what I've done wrong!" I cried.

"Asuka is your friend, is she not?" Rei asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"Then you should be the one to find out what it is you have done to hurt her feelings and apologise for it," Rei explained.

"Hurt her feelings?!" I exclaimed. "Since when did that come into it?!"

"From her reaction to what you said, I presumed that you tampered with the delicate web that is a female's emotions," Rei answered.

"Well, instead of getting all metaphorical, can't you suggest a solution since you are a girl and you seem to be so in touch with your emotions?" I asked irately.

"I cannot, simply because that it is not my feelings that have been hurt, nor is Asuka my friend. It is up to you Shinji," Rei said. She seemed to have it all in terms of rhetoric and logic yet nothing in the ways of answers. "Well, if that's all I have to go on, then I have nothing to lose," I muttered.

We soon arrived at school and made our way towards Miss Katsuragi's classroom. Thankfully the incidents during the morning hadn't caused us to be late and the teacher ignored our entrance. However, I saw Asuka as I walked in and I swear, she gave me a look that would have made any man break down into sobs. I had to retain what little dignity I had left and turned my back to her seething glare before taking my seat. "Okay, since everyone's here, I have a couple of announcements to make," said a very bored and unenthusiastic sounding Miss Katsuragi before yawning loudly. "The annual inspection from the board of education takes place in a few days as some of you may be aware. Because of this, all students are required to play their part in the effort to make this school, once again, be the best in the region. That notice is from Headmaster Fuyutsuki himself. In other news, will the delinquents causing mayhem by putting Clingfilm over the boy's toilets stop immediately and turn themselves in. Likewise, anyone with information on the culprits of this heinous crime should report it to a member of staff immediately. That is all."

She placed the paper that she was reading the announcements from down and proceeded, from what I could see, to have a nap. I looked up towards the clock above the board and saw that there was a painful two minutes left of the morning registration. In those two minutes, I would have to be in the same room as an incredibly pissed off Asuka and not give any indication of the animosity between us, mainly because we weren't known to be friends in the public eye, although I'm sure some people were catching on. I turned around to see whether Asuka was paying any attention to me and sure enough, she was still glaring pure evil in my direction. She then turned her head away, as if to indicate that she had enough of me. I faced forward once again and sighed. "You catch the game last night, Shinji?" Toji asked, taking the seat next to me.

"No, but I saw the highlights on the news this morning," I replied, managing a weak smile for my friend.

"My dad's team should have gotten a penalty in that last minute! It was clearly handball in the box!" Toji said.

"I don't know. It was a bit fifty-fifty for me," I noted.

"He leaned into the ball! Of course it was a penalty!" Toji cried.

"May I add the inimitable fact that the penalty wasn't given and our discussion this morning won't change the one-all score-line no matter what," Kensuke added.

"Shut it! Football is meant to be talked about!" Toji pointed out. "That's the wonder of the beautiful game!"

Just then, the bell rang which made me thankful that my two friends were there just to make time go that little bit faster. The entire class left the classroom leaving me alone. I wanted to have a chat with Misato. "Um, Miss?" I asked.

She snapped out of her sleep and said, "Huh, what? Did the bell go?"

"Uh, yeah, it has," I replied. Misato rubbed her eyes and yawned once more before turning her focus towards me. "Sorry Shinji, it's just that I'm incredibly tired this morning. I stayed up late last night marking homework and drinking stupid amounts of beer in the process," she said. "So what brings you to me this morning?"

"Well, it's just that I wanted to talk to you…about a friend of mine," I said.

"I see. Take a seat and spill the beans. I'm all ears," Misato said.

I grabbed one of the chairs from a desk behind me and placed it in front of Misato's desk. "So, let me hear about your troubles," she said.

"Um, well, like I said, it's about a friend of mine…"

"He or a she?" Misato interrupted.

"It's a she," I replied. "Anyway, she's really pissed off with me over something I said and even though I don't think what I said was wrong, another of my friends has told me I have to apologise. I'm not so sure."

"You having girl troubles?" Misato chuckled.

"Eh…what?" I said.

"Ah, Shinji, so your naivety amuses me," Misato said. "The thing you need to learn about the opposite sex is that we women tend to be pushy and unreasonable at the best of times. You, as a man, have to learn to deal with it. I do say you have to apologise but the problem is you can't get near this friend of yours when she's pissed off at you, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's it," I replied.

"You'll just have to find a way I'm afraid. That is the nature of these sort of issues," Misato said. "Sorry that I couldn't be any more help."

"It's okay," I said. "It's nice enough of you to speak to me."

"Ah, heck, it's all right. You're almost like a little brother of sorts to me, you know," Misato laughed. "Once you're of legal drinking age, I'll treat you to one of my famous nights out!"

"Aw, gee Miss, that's really nice of you!" I said with a smile.

"It's no problem. Anyway, could I ask who this friend of yours is, or is it strictly confidential?" Misato asked.

"Um…I guess I could tell you," I said.

"Go on," Misato said, leaning forward to hear the news.

"It's Asuka," I said.

There was a moment of silence where an expression of confused shock remained on Misato's face. "You're kidding, right?" Misato asked with a giant bead of sweat running down her face.

"No, I'm not," I said.

"Asuka, the most popular girl in the school, that girl who you said you hated because she epitomised everything you hated in this school?!" Misato cried, still in a state of absolute disbelief.

"I bumped into her a while ago and she turned out to be really nice, although she's really pissed off with me now," I said.

"Can I ask why?" Misato asked.

"Maybe it was something I said, although I don't know why she's mad at me for saying it," I explained.

"All right, I see. I just can't get over the fact that you're friends with Asuka," Misato said. "That is a turn out for the books."

"It might not stay that way much longer if this keeps up," I said sadly.

"Don't worry. I have the utmost confidence in you and your ability to resolve this issue," Misato said. "Now go on. You're going to be late for your next class if you stay here much longer."

"Okay, sure. Thanks a lot Misato!" I said.

"Don't mention it. And when you come of age, the drinks are on me!"

I left Misato's classroom, only to see Headmaster Fuyutsuki standing right outside the door. "Ah, Mr Ikari, just the man I was looking for," he said.

"Good morning, sir," I said, giving a respectful bow as was expected of me.

"Remember what we discussed, Mr Ikari. I'm counting on you," was the words the headmaster said before walking off. I sighed as he walked away. Don't I have enough problems already without the headmaster assigning me to a suicide mission? I trudge through the hallway, just trying to make my way to the class I was supposed to be in.

Yet, before I headed into that Japanese Literature class, Asuka Langley Sohryu stood in the doorway. "A little birdie told me that you have something to say to me," she growled.

"Um, yeah, about that…" I said half-assed.

"Well?" Asuka asked expectantly.

"I'm…I'm sorry about what I said in the limousine and hurting your feelings. I take it all back and never should have said any of it in the first place!" I said. Swallowing my pride just then was like swallowing a golf ball, whatever that feels like. However, it was almost worth it to see Asuka's scowl transform into that smile she gave me when we first bumped into each other. "Aww, Shinji, you're forgiven! I probably went a bit overboard at you anyway," Asuka said. She even went as far as to give me a hug before going back into the class room. When I went in, I tried not to look flustered and overcome with surprise. Asuka hugging me was the last thing I expected. And just to unsettle me even more, I was sure I saw Asuka speaking to Rei as I sat down. What the hell is going on here?


	6. Buying a Loaf of Bread

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Evangelion, I would be several million bucks better off...which I'm not.

* * *

Today seemed to last forever. From what I could tell, Asuka and Rei are on good terms with each other. It was somewhat odd, however, that Asuka would get mad at me because I was walking with Rei to school if they knew each other. So what exactly was going on? I confronted Rei over this concern of mine and her answer was, "Asuka tends to get jealous beyond all rationality. As for her and me knowing each other, yes, we do occasionally talk but Asuka preferred our knowing each other to be confidential."

"Then why are you telling me?" I had asked.

"Because I am know aware that you and Asuka are friends. Thus, I can divulge this information onto you," Rei had replied, in her usual manner.

"Are you and Asuka friends?" I next inquired.

"We do occasionally talk. I am not sure whether friends would be the correct term but yes, we do get along."

And that was that. One mystery solved at least. However, I could not get near Asuka for the entirety of the day because she was always surrounded by fan-girls or her goons and she obviously saw no real chance of escape. I was slightly bummed by this because I did want to speak to her but I guess the circumstances destroyed any chance of that. It was weird, because whenever I didn't desire myself to speak to her, she would turn up and we would chat about all sorts of random things but when I wanted to speak to her, I would either get close to being beaten up or find myself unable to get near her for my fear of getting beaten up.

My class was in the computer room for the last period of the day which was basically rest and relaxation. The computer room itself was massive and was because it was all in a network, multiplayer gaming across the room was commonplace. Of course, we weren't meant to play games but teachers didn't particularly care during computer room periods and some even joined in the gaming. Kensuke was a bit of a living legend in the computer room for his clandestine installation of 'Counter-Strike: Source' on all the computers. There are many stories as to how he did it but nobody really knows. Kensuke even refuses to let Toji and I in on his tale. However he did it, he went down in school history for it and these otherwise boring computer room periods were all the better from it.

I took a break from the gaming to ask out to the toilet. Misato was keeping watch of the class this period and when I approached her, I saw that Misato was also playing Counter-Strike. This should have came as a surprise to me but in all honesty, it didn't. "Shinji," Misato said before I could open my mouth. "If you and Asuka are friends, how come you two never speak in class?"

"Ah, well," I said, caught slightly off guard, "she wants to keep it a secret."

"Ooh, under a veil of secrecy? How romantic," Misato giggled.

"It's not like that!" I snapped. "It's because Asuka's rugby buff admirers will beat the crap out of me if they find out."

"Huh? Is she exclusive to rugby buffs or something?" Misato asked.

"Well, the buffs think she's exclusive to them and I've already had a few close encounters. Asuka's keeping it a secret for my own safety, I guess," I explained.

"Aw, isn't that nice of her?" Misato laughed.

"Shut up," I muttered, feeling incredibly patronised and knowing it was all my own doing.

"Well, since I'm done asking my question, what are you up here for? I was on a killing spree before you arrived," Misato said.

"I wanted to ask out to the toilet," I replied.

"Oh, all right. Sure, go on out."

I did and as soon as I had left the confines of the classroom, I was confronted by Headmaster Fuyutsuki. "Mr Ikari, have you taken care of what I asked you to do?" he asked.

"Uh…no, sir, I haven't…"

"Why not? Are you not aware of the seriousness of the task at hand?" the headmaster asked.

"Um, I don't know…what makes this year's inspection more serious than any other year, sir?" I asked.

"You really do not know how important this year's inspection is! Usually, we are regulated by N.E.R.V. alone but this year it is both NERV and S.E.E.L.E. who are inspecting the school!" Fuyutsuki explained, although in reality, it didn't really explain much.

"Uh…N.E.R.V. and, uh…S.E.E.L.E.?" I asked.

"I should have expected this. As a student, you wouldn't know much or particularly care about the inspections. I guess it's not even important to most of the faculty. However, these inspections help make this school the outstanding establishment it is," Fuyutsuki said, getting all officious.

"Um…okay. But I was wondering what N.E.R.V. and S.E.E.L.E. were? Are they just random acronyms?" I asked, growing tired of this proud old man's worries over some fairly pointless inspection. I mean, the school was doing its job and any smart inspector would see that this school was working fine. "Well, N.E.R.V. stands for National Education Review and Verification which is the usual inspectorate. However, this year, S.E.E.L.E., the Select Educational Establishment Liaison Electorate, which is an international organisation, wants to see if this school ranks among the best in the world which doubles the pressure and is more the reason for you to resolve the problem caused by the people who surround Miss Sohryu!" Fuyutsuki urged. "I shall take my leave now but make sure that you get it done! The inspection is in a week's time!"

"Plenty of time," I muttered as the headmaster raced off down the hallway. I was annoyed because he had stopped me going to the toilet and in turn wasted my gaming time. It was rather infuriating.

My school day finished without event and I left the computer room to return home. It was the end of what seemed a very long day and I was glad that it was partly over. As I left the school gates, I received a text message from Kaji. It read,

"Hey Shinji, cud u buy a loaf of bread at the store on ur way home? Kaji."

I sighed, knowing that whenever Kaji and I stayed together, we always managed to run out of the most basic things, like bread, milk or soap, for instance. It often led to desperate wrestling matches to decide who got the last bit of bread for example, like Kaji and I had this morning. Unfortunately, Kaji usually wins but I'm sure in a year or two, I could really take him on. I checked my wallet to make sure I had enough funds to buy bread. Another thing that I often ran short of when Kaji looked after me was, strangely enough, money. Kaji never seemed to have any and with my parents in another country, it would be difficult asking for some pocket money. I could have some cash wired to my bank account by my father but I'm sure that's something he wouldn't appreciate.

Thankfully, I had enough and I headed jauntily along to the store, my mood improved by simply being out of the confines of the Tokyo-3 Academy. The shop I was heading to was your usual small time convenience store. My parents were good friends with the owners and it was good to see that they didn't make a fuss shopping there just because they were rich. My parents were fairly down to Earth, to be honest. My dad always rants about the merits of hard work as well as being able to use and exploit people to your will, which is slightly worrying on the latter issue, whereas my mother would always tell me to be honest and judge people not on the size of their wallets, but of their hearts. Cheesy sentiments, maybe, but it was a sentiment I took aboard. And let's be honest, all the people I know at school were stinking rich anyway so the only thing I had to go on was their character. It was weird because being rich meant that you were somewhat higher up on the social chain but being in that school put everyone on an even playing field. Still, there still existed a hierarchy in the school and I was pretty much bottom of that, mainly because I didn't care. Asuka was probably near the top of the Tokyo-3 Academy hierarchy but after getting to know her, it was evident that she didn't really enjoy her time there.

The day was gloriously sunny as usual during the run up to summer. Younger kids were out kicking balls about in the streets of residential areas while others ran about in the local park. The immediate area surrounding the Tokyo-3 Academy was thankfully not all upscale and was your general middle class suburb. From what I could see, people in that kind of life tended to be happier because they always seemed content where on the other hand, it seemed rich people had so much money they bought so much stuff, only to crave more. That was one of the reasons I tried to stay away from the high life as much as I could and I even limited the amount I spent just to make sure I didn't get carried away. It is also a plus that my parents wouldn't allow me stupid amounts of pocket money which is fair enough, really. I even considered getting jobs at points but my dad intervened, saying that my education was more important and that he would provide money just as long as I didn't go mad which was again fair enough.

I made my way towards the store and just as I reached it, I saw that rugby buff and some of his moron accomplices who tend to ruin my day. I tried my best just to walk into the store with my head down looking at my mobile phone screen, ignoring the goons outside but unfortunately, they weren't so stupid as to not spot me. "Hey, if it isn't Shinji Ikari!" one of them chortled. Oh boy, I shouldn't have been so naïve as to walk right up to them. "Back off man, Asuka's coming through here any minute and if you even so much as look in her direction, we'll take you down," said the buff who fancied Asuka and caused me the most trouble. He also seemed to be the ringleader of the buffs, being the captain of the rugby team. "Guys, I'm just going in to buy a loaf of bread. Is that too much to ask for?" I said, trying to stay fairly cordial with these meatheads.

"Yes," was the reply from a third jock. I should have guessed that much. There was no reasoning with the unreasonable. "Back off Ikari, before I get serious with you," said the ringleader, who was also sadly the mayor's son.

I sighed and turned around, looking for a spot to wait for them to leave so I could get on with the simple task of buying a loaf of bread. Just as I was about to walk away, Asuka arrived on the scene. I glanced over to her but she didn't take any note of me, probably intentionally to save my ass. "Hey babe. Your stalker was here. We told him to get lost," said the buff who fancied Asuka. What the hell? He thinks that I stalk Asuka? And for another thing, he said I had been there as in past tense, not there anymore. I was still standing right there, just a few metres away from them! "Oh, I see," Asuka said. "And could you stop calling me babe, please?"

"Sure thing, babe," the jock replied.

"Whatever. You guys go ahead inside, I've got a phone called to make," Asuka said, taking her mobile phone out of her purse.

"Sure thing, babe," the jock replied in the same manner before heading off into the shop with his goons.

Suddenly, Asuka put her phone back in her purse and turned towards me. "Come on Shinji, let's ditch these idiots!" Asuka said with a sly grin on her face.

"But…but I need to buy a loaf of bread," I said weakly.

"You can buy it later! Let's go!" Asuka insisted. Before I could argue with her, she had grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the store. I don't know how I would explain it to Kaji. The both of us get really cranky when we don't have bread in the morning, mainly because Kaji can't cook and I never get up early enough to cook breakfast. I guess I could get up earlier and make breakfast for the both of us but then again, buying a loaf of bread seemed a whole lot easier. "Do you know anywhere close where we could hang out?" Asuka asked.

"Well…there's my house but…" I began to say.

Asuka was very quick to cut me off, saying, "Fine! Your house it is!" There was nothing I could do or say. Asuka had made her mind up and that was pretty much it.

However, after dragging me, there was an evident shortfall in Asuka's plan. "Um…where is your house?" Asuka asked, rather embarrassedly.

"You should have thought of that before dragging me halfway down this street!" I chuckled.

"Shut up you! Just tell me where you live!" Asuka cried, although she was giggling as she did.

"Sure thing…babe," I said, emulating her jock admirer.

"Argh, don't remind me of that asshole!" Asuka snapped.

"He reckons I stalk you as well," I added.

"Well, if it's anyone, it's him who stalks me! What a creep!" Asuka said. "Now come on, show me where your house is!"

"Okay, okay. Follow me," I said. "Be warned, my guardian is there and he's a bit of a joker."

"Oh really? Then I look forward to meeting him!" Asuka said. "Is he looking after you until your parents get back from their cruise?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"What's your guardian's name?" Asuka asked.

"Royji Kaji," I replied. "Everyone, even his friends, still just call him Kaji."

"Kaji? A tall guy with his hair in a ponytail who always wears a tie loosely around his neck?" Asuka further inquired.

"What, you know him?" I said, quite surprised at this revelation.

"Not personally, but he's worked for my dad a couple of times and I've seen him about," Asuka explained.

"Strange. I thought he worked for my dad," I noted.

"Maybe he works for everyone's dads?" Asuka suggested.

"Not likely. In all honesty, I'm not sure what his actual job his. I've known him since I was 10 and I still don't know what his job his!" I said.

"He's quite the mystery, this Kaji guy," Asuka chuckled.

"I do know that he used to be an intelligence officer in the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force but apart from that, who knows."

"Ooh, so he's a spy?"

"Hardly! His job had him cooped up in an office for most of the day!"

"Maybe if he told you the truth, then he would have to kill you!"

"Maybe you're over romanticising the job of a JASDF Intelligence Officer!"

"Maybe I am, but isn't it fun to speculate?"

Asuka smiled before running off in front of me. "Ah, freedom from those morons! It's good that I bumped into you," Asuka said.

"Yeah it was because they looked ready to kick my ass," I said.

"Come on, you could take them!" Asuka said.

"Me? Take on those jocks? I don't think so. They may be absolute jerks but that doesn't take away from the fact that they're pretty strong," I pointed out.

"Come on, where's your Japanese 'fight to the death' spirit?" Asuka asked.

"I think we Japanese left it behind in 1945. And what the hell, you're German, so I don't know what you're trying to get at," I said, noting that history defined both Germany and Japan as losers of wars.

"I didn't bring history into it at all! What I meant to get at was your fighting spirit! If those goons got you into a corner, you wouldn't just take the beating, would you? Wouldn't you fight back?" Asuka asked.

"Um…maybe," I replied half-heartedly.

"Well, let's say one of those jocks was threatening me. Then would you fight?" Asuka next questioned.

"I…um, well, I guess so," I answered, again, rather haphazardly.

"You guess so?" Asuka said, not sounding impressed.

"It's a difficult question to answer, okay?" I said, getting frustrated. "Argh…yes, I would fight if they threatened you."

"That's good to hear," Asuka said with a beaming smile on her face.

"You just wanted me to say that, didn't you?"

"Yup."

By that point, we had arrived in front of the block of flats in which my family made its home. "Here we are," I said. "My place is at the top floor."

"The presidential suite?" Asuka inquired.

"Of sorts," I replied.

"Well, let's go then. I want to see your place!" Asuka urged. We took the elevator to the top floor and I opened my front door. "Hey Shinji, did you get that bread?" Kaji asked as soon as he heard the door open.

"Um, no, I'll get it later today," I replied.

"What was the problem, didn't you get my text?" Kaji asked as he walked up to the doorway. However, his concerns over the bread were dropped as soon as he saw that I had company. "My, my, this is the first time Shinji's ever brought a girl home!" my guardian chuckled.

"Kaji!" I cried in despair.

"Hello Mr Kaji! My name is Asuka Langley Sohryu and I'm one of Shinji's friends from the Academy," Asuka said, playing out the polite, innocent schoolgirl routine.

"Ah yes, Shinji has told me about you once. It never occurred to me though that you were the daughter of Dr and Professor Sohryu!" Kaji said. "And you don't have to call me Mr Kaji. Salespeople over the phone call me that. I'm fine with Kaji."

"I have seen you about my home before. You were working for my father, right?" Asuka asked.

"Yes, that's right. I have run a few errands for the famous Dr Dieter Langley Sohryu, neurosurgeon extraordinaire!" Kaji said.

"Oh, you flatter my father too much! He's just your average Joe," Asuka said.

"Yes, I suppose so. Do come in. Sorry if the place is in a mess, Shinji never told me to expect company," Kaji said.

"This was kind of last minute," I explained. "We bumped into each other at the store."

"So you went to the store, eh? What happened to getting a loaf of bread?" Kaji inquired.

"It's a long story," I pointed out.

"Fair enough," Kaji said. "Hey, why don't you show Asuka around?"

"Yeah Shinji, that sounds like a good idea!" Asuka said.

"Good stuff. Listen, I'm going out just now. Call me if you need me," Kaji said, grabbing a packet of cigarettes before leaving the flat.

After Kaji was out the door, I went to the kitchen and got two cans of coke out of the fridge. I tossed one to Asuka before cracking mine open and took a long drink, savouring the refreshment on this hot day. "Looks like you and Kaji hit it off," I said.

"He's a pretty cool guy," Asuka agreed.

"Sure is," I said. "And no, he isn't a spy."

"I don't know. He had that kind of look about him when he said he was running errands, in inverted commas, for my father," Asuka said with a grin on her face.

"Whatever," I sighed, while Asuka laughed. "Anyway, shall I show you around?"

"Yes you may, good sir!" Asuka said, giggling as she said it.

"Well, madam, this is the joint kitchen and dining area and as you can see, it flows splendidly as part of the large open plan living space with a large French door leading onto a generously large balcony space," I said, putting on my best posh estate agent voice and demeanour. "There is a toilet over there just beside the hallway leading to the bedrooms. This property contains four bedrooms, all with an en-suite shower room and there is also a main bathroom with a large bathtub equipped with hot tub jets. That is the extent of the fabulous property!"

By this point, Asuka was laughing pretty hard. "Hey, can't you see I was being serious?" I cried, although I couldn't help but join in with Asuka's laughter.

"It's not what you're saying, it's just, you know, the way you're saying it!" Asuka said, finally controlling herself. "This is a nice place though. You have it pretty comfortable."

"Who doesn't at the Academy? I mean, let's be honest," I said.

"Yeah, that's true," Asuka said. "Hey, can I see your room?"

"My…room?" I asked. "Uh, why?"

"I dunno…I'm just a bit curious to see what a guy's room looks like," Asuka said.

"Um…okay…" By that point, Asuka had grabbed my arm and pulled me into the large hallway which connected all the bedrooms. "Which one is it?" Asuka inquired.

"It's that one…far left," I said, wincing at how tight Asuka had my arm.

"Let's see it then!" Asuka said, moving towards it.

There was nothing special about my room. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a computer and posters about the walls of bands I liked, a few movie posters and female movie stars in bikinis. The posters of the females in bikinis immediately caught Asuka's attention. "Shinji, you're a bit of a pervert, aren't you?" Asuka noted, as-a-matter-of-fact.

"Hey! I'm a 16 year old guy, okay? It's like you have topless posters of boy band members or 'hunks', or whatever!" I said, defending myself and my posters.

"Yeah, I get it, I get it," Asuka chuckled. "Huh? What's this; a cello?" The cello was sitting in the corner, along with a music stand. I used to practice it religiously but now I play every now and then just to stay fresh. Me playing the cello was something I didn't let too many people know about. I think my parents, Kaji, Misato, Toji and Kensuke were about the only people who knew that I played it. "Can you play it?" Asuka asked.

"Ah, well, I dabble," I replied nervously.

"Come on, play it for me! I want to hear you!" Asuka insisted.

"Well…okay," I said. "I can play you some Vivaldi or some Bach."

"If you can play a Bach cello suite, then I'll be really impressed, "Asuka said, showing that she had some knowledge in classical music or in this instance, Baroque music.

Since she said I should play one of Bach's cello suites, the obvious choice was the Prelude to the 1st Cello Suite in G Major because everyone knows that tune. I grabbed my cello and the music stand and sat on my computer chair with my cello positioned correctly and my bow at the ready. Asuka sat on my bed, waiting expectedly. I took a deep breath in and began to play. It was liberating. It had been a while since I had last played and when the notes began to ring out, I felt immediately at ease. The one thing I enjoyed most about playing the instrument was that it put you at ease. Obviously, it didn't put me at ease when I was learning to play because that was a long hard struggle but it all paid off during moments like this when I become lost in the music. After about 2 and a half minutes, I finished playing the Prelude and couldn't help but smile after I had stopped. I had played it fairly slowly, just so that it had a more relaxing quality about it.

After I had finished, Asuka raised her hands to clap. "That was wonderful Shinji!" she said. "Why didn't you tell me that you played the cello?"

"It's not really something I tell people," I replied. "To be honest, the only people that know I play are the people who have been in my room."

"Haha, I feel privileged to be part of that group then!" Asuka said. "That was really great, Shinji, really. It makes me want to play the violin again."

"You played the violin?" I asked.

"When I was younger. I kind of stopped when I was 14 but hearing you play and seeing you really enjoying playing, it makes me want to play violin again," Asuka said.

"Well, we could do a duet one day if you get yourself up to scratch again," I said.

"Hey, I was pretty good. It won't take me long to get going again!" Asuka pointed out.

"Then I look forward to our duet then," I said with a smile.

"I do as well," Asuka said, meeting my smile with her own, dazzling one. I got to admit, she is really attractive, something I never really appreciated before now. "Hey, we should sit out on the balcony and chill," Asuka suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I agreed.

I got more cans of coke and we sat on deck chairs on the balcony, simply relaxing as the day ran its course. We didn't speak much but in all honesty, there wasn't much need to speak. I had some music playing from the living room and I thought, this is the life. Chilling with a new friend, enjoying music and sunshine. However, there was a nagging in the back of my head over what Headmaster Fuyutsuki had told me to do and I felt like I had to tell Asuka. "Hey, Asuka," I said.

"Hmm," was her lazy reply.

"You know how the school inspections are coming soon?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, Headmaster Fuyutsuki kind of singled out the people who surround you as a problem and uh, he asked me to deal with it, so to speak," I said nervously.

"You mean…the Headmaster wants to dissolve my little fan club?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

This was the moment of truth. I would find out whether Asuka would come on board, whether she didn't care or whether she would throw it back in my face. I was tense, not knowing what to expect. If there's one thing I've learnt about Asuka, it's that she's highly unpredictable. "This is the chance I've been waiting for! Go for it Shinji. In fact, I'll even help you!" Asuka said.

"You'll help me?" I asked, quite confused but relieved at the same time at Asuka's reaction.

"Sure! We'll come up with a plan so I can get myself out of the popularity box I'm in! I'm actually really glad you brought this up!" Asuka said.

"Well, that makes one of us," I said nervously, wondering what would come of this conversation and how we would actually go about this.


	7. Bribery, Corruption, Scandal!

**Disclaimer:** What can I say? Well, I can start by saying I don't own Evangelion nor do I intend to make any money off of this, although that would be nice.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for not having updated in a while. It's summer and I'm a lazy bum. Sorry everyone.

* * *

Kaji and I sat in front of the television, both miserably eating that horrendous bran cereal that my mother bought only to never eat. This was not the way to start your day. "You should have bought the bread Shinji," Kaji said, verging on annoyed. I knew that it was impossible for Kaji to be serious or angry but at this moment, this was as close as he would get to annoyed. "I told you already, the circumstances didn't work in my favour," I muttered downheartedly.

"Circumstances? Shinji, stringing along two girls at once aren't really circumstances. More a consequence of your wild womanising," Kaji said.

I wasn't even in the mood to give an animated retort and I ended up muttering, "Whatever."

"Hey Shinji, I was expecting a bit more than that," Kaji said with a chuckle.

"It's just…it's just this lack of bread," I said. "This isn't breakfast; it's more like force feeding."

"Only you're force feeding yourself," Kaji noted.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"You do realise you can't have both Asuka and Rei? You have to choose one," Kaji said next.

"Listen, give me a few weeks to think about it and I'll get back to you," I replied nonchalantly.

"Hey, speaking of a few weeks, you turn 17 in just under two weeks, right?" Kaji asked.

"Yup," I answered.

"You having a party?" Kaji inquired.

"Probably not," I said.

"Shinji, you really are down in the dirt this morning. This is why we need bread!" Kaji urged.

"I know, I know, I'll get some after school today," I said. "Anyway, I'd better go. See you later Kaji."

I knew that I wasn't myself this morning but the reason was clear enough. I'm one of those people where it doesn't matter what side of the bed you get up on but what goes into my stomach following getting up. Food doesn't so much affect my mood later on in the day but it's pretty much decisive in the morning. I could have gotten up earlier to make a decent breakfast, but that involves getting up early which is never a good thing. It just made waiting to go to the Tokyo-3 Academy longer which just prolonged that source of agony.

As I walked on towards school, I felt something on my shoulder. As I turned to my shoulder, I felt the same thing on my head. It was cold and it was wet. I looked up to the heavens and saw that they were unleashing their wrath upon us mere mortals down at street level. Within seconds, what seemed like a fairly nice and pleasant day had turned into a torrential downpour of rain. I ran to find cover as my blazer was already soaked from the unrelenting torrent. I sought refuge by some shop windows which were thankfully under cover. As I looked out onto the street, I was fascinated by how there was already standing water there. This level of rainfall was probably too much for the drainage system in the street to deal with. I wondered if it was possible for floods to spread in central Tokyo-3. Then again, in all likeliness, it was never going to happen.

I was waiting for the rain to lighten off just a bit before advancing but there seemed to be no sign of that at all. Just when I felt like I was stranded, I saw a red limousine stop by the side of the street just where I was. The window rolled down and I saw a familiar face. "Hey, Shinji! Come on in!" Asuka cried. If I had thought about it at the time, I would have just stayed put and just not gone to school. However, I chose to run towards her limo and climbed in, effectively sealing my ticket to the Tokyo-3 Academy for the day. "Thanks," I said, although I was inwardly cringing at my stupidity. I would have much rather waited the heavy rain out. "No problem," Asuka said with a smile. "It was a good thing I spotted you."

"Yeah, I know. That rain came out of nowhere," I muttered as I took off my soaked blazer.

"Here, let me take that for you," Asuka said.

"Ah, no, it's all right," I said, keeping a hold of my blazer.

"Don't be stupid Shinji. Hold something wet and you'll end up getting wet yourself!" Asuka snapped before literally snatching the blazer out of my hands and tossing it towards the other side of the limo. "Jeez, you're such an idiot sometimes," she added, for good taste.

"Thanks for that, Asuka," I said. "I appreciate everything, the lift and the insult."

"You're welcome…idiot," Asuka chuckled. "Anyway, don't we have some plotting to do?"

"Plotting?" I asked.

"Idiot! Don't you remember? You agreed to let me help you destroy the so-called Asuka fan-club because Headmaster Fuyutsuki tasked you to!" Asuka snapped.

"Oh yeah, that," I noted dourly.

"So, any ideas?"

"Huh? Well, no, not really. I've not really thought about it."

"Not thought about it?! Then how are we going to pull this off?"

"We'll work out something. And besides, what about you?"

"I'm just helping you! Don't expect me to put the thinking cap on!"

And that was that I guess. If Asuka wanted her way, then she would normally get her way. It wasn't because she was a spoilt child or anything. (I'll be plainly obvious; _anyone_ who can afford to go to that damn school is spoiled by the average layman's measure, me included.) Asuka just seemed to always get her way, either by aggressive negotiation or otherwise. Maybe she was just so used to getting her way she had taken it for granted and as time passed, so did the people who hung about with her.

"Here we are Miss Sohryu and Miss Sohryu's friend," said Manfred, Asuka's chauffeur. "Do mind the rain."

"Thank you Manny," Asuka said with a smile. "And his name is Shinji Ikari."

"A pleasure to meet you Mr Ikari," said Manfred.

"Likewise," I said, noting that Manfred was indeed European, most likely German from his name.

"Son of the industrious Gendo Ikari?" Manfred inquired.

"Yes, that would be me," I answered.

"Gendo Ikari is an excellent businessman, albeit ruthless in his means. He definitely clawed his way to the top," Manfred said, as if recalling my father's demeanour.

"Yeah, sounds like my dad all right," I chuckled.

"And Miss Sohryu?" Manfred asked.

"Yes?"

"You still haven't told me why you threw Mr Ikari out of the car the other day."

"Ah, yeah, that, long story. I'll tell you when you pick me up," Asuka said.

"Very well. Have a good day you two."

When we left the limo, we had to run as fast as possible to avoid getting drenched by the rain which didn't seem to be letting up. It was also getting incredibly windy. "God, it's like a typhoon!" I cried once we were underneath a solid roof. My blazer provided us with some cover as we ran through the rain. "I know. Maybe it is?" Asuka mused.

"I doubt that. There would have been a warning on the news," I said.

"Maybe it's a freak typhoon? The product of global warming?" Asuka chuckled.

"You know, the scary thing is that may not be too far from the truth," I noted.

"I wasn't being serious! There is no way a typhoon could appear out of nowhere!" Asuka cried.

As we walked through to our registration class, I began to notice the eyes set on the both of us as we walked. Then I realised how stupid the both of us were. Because we were in such a hurry to get out of the rain, we walked right through the main gates of the school in plain view of many pupils talking to each other. This would not go down well. "Uh, Shinji, why is everyone staring at us?" Asuka asked quietly through gritted teeth.

"Because we're together like this," I replied in a similar manner. "Should we run?"

"No, it might attract attention," Asuka pointed out. "Let's just try and walk through here as if nothing happened."

Bad idea. Very, very, bad idea.

"OH MY GOD! WHY IS HE WITH ASUKA?!" screamed a girl, presumably one of Asuka's fan-girls.

"Woooh! You go Shinji!" cried someone from my year.

"I'm gonna kick his puny little ass!" added what could have only been a buff. General morning stuff had turned into absolute pandemonium. "Shinji!" Asuka cried. "Plan B!"

"What's that?!" I asked in a panic.

"RUN!!"

That was probably the best course of action to get clear of the mounting numbers of people amassing at the area. We split up and headed towards our registration class in different directions as to minimise the risk of further trouble, although I think we have set off the classic snowball effect. Once it gets rolling, it becomes impossible to stop.

Inside registration, I kept my head down and tried to ignore anything coming my way. It was chaos though, as Misato was nowhere to be seen. "Hey Shinji, looks like you messed up big time," Toji laughed.

"Shut up," I muttered. "It's not that bad, is it?"

"No, it's worse," Kensuke said. "From what I've dug up, all the teachers in the school are at an emergency meeting called by the headmaster."

"What? That's stupid! That means that there are no teachers to watch the crazed mobs!" I cried, unknowingly attracting more attention to myself in doing so.

"Well, apparently Headmaster Fuyutsuki takes this very seriously, with the inspection of the school so soon. He doesn't want an unruly rabble as his set of pupils for the school," Kensuke noted, who was seemingly getting all this information from his laptop which he was furiously typing on.

At the moment, Misato walked into the room and instead of sitting behind her desk and taking the class roll, she began to clear up her things on her desk. "Hey, Misato? What you doing?" I asked.

"What does it look like? I'm clearing my desk up. And if you're wondering why, it's because I've been ordered to take a leave of absence, suspended in other words," Misato said.

"What?! How come?" I said in absolute shock.

"It's to do with that incident concerning you and Asuka this morning," Misato said.

"Damn it! Sorry Misato, I didn't mean for…"

"No, don't apologise. It's leave with pay so my next destination after here is the nearest bar!" Misato chuckled. "I think you've actually done me a favour."

"Um, oh, okay. You're welcome, I guess. Anyway, why have you been ordered to take leave?" I asked.

"Mr Fuyutsuki asked me to separate you from the class and have you go along a different time table that kept you as far away from Asuka as possible. As a teacher and a woman, I refused, because it's none of my business who you speak to Shinji. And if it causes a bit of havoc, well, it dies down eventually when people get used to it." Misato explained.

"So you refused an order…how come you're getting leave with pay?" I further inquired.

"Appearances Shinji," Misato said. "If I'm on leave with pay, then nothing _appears_ to be amiss. That's the way Mr Fuyutsuki wants it. Everything has to _appear_ to be fine and dandy. It's the same for the inspection. As long as everything _appears_ fine during the inspection, the school will get its five star rating and everybody's happy. Today, nothing at all appeared to be fine so close to the inspection so Mr Fuyutsuki was in a wild panic."

"I see," I noted.

"Listen Shinji. This school is all about _appearance_. I bet you didn't know that unhappiness rates in this school are much higher than in all other schools in mainland Honshu. As well as that, social segregation, would you believe, is so commonplace in this school its unbelievable. And who do you think kept these reports under wraps? None other than our fine Headmaster, Mr Fuyutsuki. All for appearance's sake. Scratch beneath the surface, and you'll find something very different to what this school is perceived to be." By that point, Misato had finished packing her things into her handbag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get absolutely plastered," Misato said with a massive grin that said it all.

"She isn't an alcoholic, she just loves drinking," I said with a smile as Misato left the room. I think she's been the best friend I've had throughout my Tokyo-3 Academy years. For some reason, she had broken down the teacher-pupil distinction between the two of us and we became friends. It was good to realise that I wasn't alone all this time.

The day went on and contrary to what Misato said about the havoc dying down eventually; it was as rife as ever. I couldn't be seen in public, not with all this going on. I had to wait for crowds to clear, either hidden in my locker or in a cubicle of the boy's toilets before changing classes. And even then, I would have to show face when entering a classroom but at least there's a teacher who can maintain the illusion of control and more importantly, given any would be attacker on my person a detention. It was difficult to get Asuka's opinion of all this, mainly because she was constantly surrounded by her mob whose sole desire at the moment is that my blood be spilt. I could get someone else's opinion of this however.

"I do not see what all the fuss is about," said an indifferent Rei Ayanami who was busy munching a sandwich.

"That's exactly how I feel!" I implored, happy to have caught up with Rei at the beginning of lunch. "But try telling that to the crazed masses. Half the guys out there want to shake my hand while the other half would like to break my hands, not to mention other parts of my body. And don't get me started on some of those girls."

"It appears Asuka's reputation has far preceded her," Rei noted. "I do not believe she would instigate such a frenzy on purpose."

"She didn't. I was with her when it all started. All we did was run in out of the rain and talk to each other. No big deal, right?" I said.

"Well, I do not find it a big deal. But then again, I have never really went along with the mainstream and popular opinion," Rei said.

"Yeah, I guess you live on the edge, don't you?" I chuckled.

"I wouldn't really say that either," Rei said, not noticing the sarcasm in my voice.

"You know, the worst thing is that Misato got suspended from work because of this whole fiasco," I muttered.

"I know. It appears Headmaster Fuyutsuki does not find the current situation agreeable due to the upcoming inspection," Rei noted.

"This will all blow over," I muttered. "The headmaster is making too big a fuss over this."

"And if it doesn't blow over?" Rei inquired.

"Then the Headmaster is screwed when the inspection comes, with the possible inclusion of me and Asuka," I replied.

"Asuka and I," Rei corrected.

"Whatever. Anyway, I have no idea what to do. Maybe you could give a few suggestions?" I asked very hopefully.

Rei tossed the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth before picking up her second from her lunch box. "There is nothing in all honesty I could suggest. I can't say I have ever, or ever will be, in a situation that resembles yours," Rei replied, very unhelpfully.

"Can't you…uh, stretch your imagination a little bit?" I said. Upon asking that, Rei looked toward me with a raised eyebrow. "Okay…stretch your imagination a _big_ bit?" I persisted.

"I think the main thing is that you contact Asuka," Rei said. "Once you do, you two can begin to sort the situation out."

"There's no way with how everything is," I pointed out.

"You did not let me finish. I was about to say I could help engineer such a meeting," Rei said. "I am on good terms with the class representative, Hikari, and she is one of the select few who can speak to Asuka in plain view. With that, we can allow you to meet at a predetermined destination."

"Rei, have I ever told you that I love you?" I asked, amazed that she had something up her sleeve.

"I appreciate your affection, Shinji," Rei said, allowing me to see one of her rare smiles before gulping the remainder of her second sandwich. She then stood up and began to walk off, leaving me to stare at her behind as I have done before. It was absolutely fabulous. "Shinji?" Rei asked after stopping suddenly.

"Um…yeah?" I said nervously.

"I know that you are staring at my ass," Rei pointed out.

"Oh…um…sorry?" I offered feebly. And I swear, she giggled just before she left the room.

So there I was, alone in Misato's classroom. During lunchtimes, no pupils usually went into classrooms unless there were lunchtime activities on and since there was no Misato to lock the classroom, it allowed Rei and I to discuss business. Usually, I would conduct my matters on the roof but the rain was unrelenting, preventing any venturing out of doors. The fact that the rain was not easing was beginning to look worrying. The amount of standing water out on the roads made it look impossible to drive through, although the odd car did venture out from what I could see from the window. The rain outside looked like my situation inside; miserable and unrelenting. With that in mind, I moved on from the classroom and prepared to try my best to move around unnoticed.

Thankfully, by waiting for crowds to clear and my keen sense of timing, I managed to move relatively unnoticed. When I say relatively, I mean I only got seven shouts of "Hey Shinji! YOU DA MAN!" and about three shouts of "Shinji Ikari, I'll kill you!" Frankly, I was relieved that I got more shouts of praise this time around but then again, it was unnecessary attention. The less I got of it, the better. As I made my way, I wondered how it turned so bad so quickly. All we did was talk to each other. That isn't a crime, is it? I guess Misato was right about appearances. Not only does it affect the senior teachers, but the pupils as well. As long as Asuka appears to be the most popular girl in school, then no one can appear to speak to her. If we have a friendship that's out of view, then that's fine but as soon as it becomes part of the appearance, then it's immediately a big deal. This, along with my already strong hate for the Tokyo-3 Academy, instilled a strong sense of rebellion against the Academy. Well, to be honest, it was always there, just stronger now with Misato's suspension and her convincing theory of appearance versus reality.

After receiving a text message from Rei, I waited back in Misato's classroom for the meeting with Asuka. It seemed her class had become a base of operations ever since her suspension so in a way, she had done us a favour and apparently I did her a favour by allowing her to get drunk at nine o'clock in the morning. Strange woman, I'll admit, but she's a very nice person. Anyway, I was in her room awaiting Asuka's arrival when the door opened. However, it wasn't Asuka. Rather, it was Hikari Horaki, the class rep. This was a rather interesting development, because she was a girl with whom I have never really spoken to, apart from official class rep stuff she had to do. The only thing I knew about her unrelated to school was that she was dating Toji, which was a recent development which had come as a surprise to me. Closely following her was Rei. "Well, well, well Shinji Ikari. Look at all the fuss you've caused," Hikari said in a very patronising matter.

"Hey, I didn't _want_ things to kick off like they did!" I said in my defence.

"It's okay, I know you didn't," Hikari chuckled. "God, who knew that you talking to Asuka would cause a complete breakdown of the stringent social structure that formed in the school."

"A complete breakdown?" I asked.

"Yup. It seems everybody, no matter who they are, wants to speak to Asuka about you speaking to her this morning. That has never happened before. Some pupils are even speculating that the times are changing," Hikari added.

At that moment, Asuka entered the room and it seemed her face was as red as her hair. She also appeared out of breath. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Nah, I was just running away from a crowd of my disappointed fan-girls, no biggie," Asuka said. "Sorry if I'm late."

"No, no, Rei and I just got here," Hikari said. "So, what's the situation on your end, Asuka?"

"Well, Shinji and I succeeded in our little mission tasked to us by Headmaster Fuyutsuki; my little fan group has officially dissolved because of this morning's incidents and the literal social upheaval within the school," Asuka explained.

"What, so we're off the hook from Mr Fuyutsuki because we did his wet work for him?" I asked optimistically.

"Far from it. I think we're in an even deeper hole for everybody going nuts because of what happened. You know, I thought people wouldn't really care that much about it but I'm wrong," Asuka muttered.

"This whole situation, it is as if someone had kicked at the rotting foundation to let the whole thing come down," Rei noted.

"Our little mishap being that kick," I added sourly. "I just don't know why everyone went so crazy about it."

Just then, the door opened once more and in walked someone I did not expect to see in a million years. "I think I may know the answer to that," said none other than Ryoji Kaji.

"Kaji?! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, you see Shinji; I've been observing the actions of Headmaster Fuyutsuki at this school for the duration you've been at it under the jurisdiction of N.E.R.V., National Education Review and Verification, an organisation chaired by one Gendo Ikari," Kaji answered.

"What? My dad is the head of an education review board?!" I exclaimed.

"That's correct. He is one of the country's biggest investors in education and a leading supporter of independent education review. He had always been suspicious of the Tokyo-3 Academy's more than perfect reputation, which is why he had me tasked to keep an eye on this school," Kaji continued.

"But…I've known you for longer than that! My dad had you look after me when he was away so he must have known you before," I said.

"Well, after my stint in the air force, he hired me as a consultant on all things intelligence based to get ahead of his rival companies," Kaji said. "I ended up getting the occasional job of looking after you when I first visited your home and hit it off with you. Remember that day?"

"Yeah, we had a wrestling bout for no apparent reason. We sure hit it off, all right," I chuckled.

"But I've seen you work for my dad as well. How come?" Asuka asked.

"Gendo Ikari personally recommended me to your father Asuka as he had his own uses for my services," Kaji said.

"Jeez, is the Kaji guy you told me about Asuka?" Hikari asked.

"Yup," Asuka replied.

"Gosh, he's like an International Man of Mystery or something," Hikari noted.

"You flatter me," Kaji laughed. "Now, I've got some explaining to do about the situation in the school."

We all leaned forward and began listening intently as Kaji began. "This school has always had a sterling reputation. It has always been that way in it's long history. Ever since Kozo Fuyutsuki took over, that reputation has gotten even better, with some marvelling it as the best high school in the world. Of course, such a reputation comes at a price with the school demanding some of the highest fees in the world. This has led to a trend in the past decade of pupils coming from only rich and powerful families, leading to a significant social exclusion. Private schools have always been for the better off among us but this school takes it to a new level. Every kid at this school has a rich daddy, with your four being no exception. Now, on the surface, it appears everything is fine and dandy with the school's excellent disciplinary record and high grades. However, it appears that there is a rank amount of corruption behind it all. Fuyutsuki often receives bribes to falsify certain pupil's grades or to let them off the hook of suspensions or expulsions. Also, some of his methods in maintaining order breach most rights that should be available to all school pupils, like who they are friends with. Fuyutsuki as been known to forcefully segregate groups of friends that he sees as a potential troublemaking factor within the school and by troublemaking, I mean anything that will so much as nick the perfect reputation of the school. Sometimes, he will threaten to have some of those pupils expelled, only to receive a pay-off from the parent to keep the child in school. From what I've also seen, he has also been known to bribe teachers to do his bidding and occasionally he even gets pupils to perform some of his tasks for him."

Kaji's story had us all absolutely astonished beyond all reasonable belief. One thing after another was revealed to us. "I…I can't believe it," muttered Hikari, who as a class rep was technically a pawn of this corrupt system.

"There's more to it as well. The level of corruption goes beyond Fuyutsuki. Apparently, the mayor of Tokyo-3 himself is giving bribes to have his son's bad behaviour and history of fighting and assault erased from all school records, as well as giving his grades a boost. And to top it all off, Fuyutsuki is pushing to get the school recognised by S.E.E.L.E., the Select Educational Establishment Liaison Electorate which would declare the Tokyo-3 Academy as one of the 'elite' schools in the world, which would mean a huge financial incentive. From what I've heard however, it seems that Fuyutsuki plans to pocket that mostly for himself. In other worlds, this school is feeding endless amounts of money to Kozo Fuyutsuki," Kaji explained.

"God…it was all for the money," I muttered.

"And as for the pupils going mad, I'm going to theorise that something upset the social balance in the school so badly that it was the catalyst to cause this wildness," Kaji said.

"Yeah, I think we know what you mean," Asuka said as Asuka and I exchanged looks.

"So what are you going to do, Mr Kaji?" Rei inquired.

"Once Gendo Ikari returns from his holiday, we're going to take down Fuyutsuki and the mayor," Kaji said. "This kind of this is unacceptable in a school, no matter the wealth of the parents involved. As soon as this story goes out in the open, Fuyutsuki's finished."

I was confounded by all this. "I guess my long time hunch about this school was right, huh?" I asked.

"Yup," Kaji said. "And sorry I couldn't tell you about this second job of mine."

"It's okay. It _is_ your job," I said.

"I told you Kaji was a spy," Asuka said smugly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I conceded. "And now I know why Headmaster Fuyutsuki wanted me to split up your fan club."

"It all makes sense now," Asuka agreed.

Suddenly, the door of the classroom burst open and in came Fuyutsuki along with two police officers. "There he is! Intruding on school property! Have him arrested!" Fuyutsuki ordered. We watched in horror as Kaji was handcuffed in front of us and a very triumphant looking Fuyutsuki. "As for you four, my office, straight away!" Fuyutsuki yelled angrily. We walked slowly out of Misato's classroom, with Kaji in front of us. We were stood outside the classroom and Fuyutsuki was barking some orders to the police officers. He then turned to face us. "Well, what are you waiting for?! My office, now!" he yelled. Personally, I was frozen. I couldn't move at all. I looked towards Asuka, then Hikari and Rei, and they were the same. "Well?" Fuyutsuki continued. "Move."

All of a sudden, Asuka's foot flew at a furious pace towards Fuyutsuki's crotch. The connection looked so bad it was painful to watch. "Now guys, run! RUN!" Kaji cried. I became suddenly unfrozen as the four of us sprinted in the general direction of the main door. It was still lunchtime and there were crowds of pupils in the hallways and corridors which gave as an advantage as we made our way. Eventually, we were out in the rain and just tried to make as much distance between ourselves and the school. "Asuka, that kick…it was so hard it was painful to watch," I said.

"Thank you," said the redhead with a gleaming smile.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Hikari asked.

"My house," I replied. "My parents are on holiday. We need to make contact with my dad. Kaji will probably be out of the equation because from what we've heard, we can safely bet that Fuyutsuki would be bribing those officers. My dad is the only one who can help."

"Shinji, isn't he on a cruise in the Caribbean?!" Asuka said.

"He has money, he'll find a way back," I replied.

"This has gotten very interesting," Rei noted, very much understating the scale of the whole thing. With money, scandal and corruption involved, this could be very dangerous for a bunch of 16 year old kids. Still, we had the power to stop it and we had friends in high places. And besides, haven't I always wanted to take down the Tokyo-3 Academy? This would be my perfect chance!


	8. Misato's Afternoon Hangover

**Disclaimer:** Neon Genesis Evangelion doesn't belong to me. It belongs to...the guys who made it, whever they are. Hideck-o Anode and Gain-axe or something.

**Author's Note:** Yes, this story does have a plot, although it took me several chapters' worth of seemingly pointless but amusing writing and the playing of Metal Gear Solid games to decide on a mad, intertwining plot that would mess with brains. And it'll pretty much continue in that vein. Come to think of it, Evangelion's plot is pretty all over the place as well.

Also, I HAVE BROKEN THE FOURTH WALL in this chapter, very subtly though (Not like the fully capitalised text I just used. That isn't subtle at all!). It is up to you to find it! (In retrospect, it's actually not subtle at all.) Anyway, here goes.

* * *

Who knew that going to school would eventually lead to the discovery of a massive web of scandal, corruption and deceit? I certainly didn't. I mean, I really hated that place and there was something about the Tokyo-3 Academy that fuelled my hatred but I never guessed that the very headmaster of that establishment would be that the centre of a well disguised money machine. How much extra cash would he be raking in from his 'extra-curricular' activities? It was almost too much to take in all so suddenly. And then there was the discovery that Kaji was a spy, although Asuka and I already had our now confirmed suspicions on that one.

"So what now?" Hikari asked with the four of us sat in my living room.

"We could break Kaji free from the authorities," Asuka suggested rather hopefully.

"Be reasonable, please," Rei said quietly.

"And I think Rei should do it," Asuka added.

"I'd prefer not to," Rei responded.

"You…you know I was only kidding, right?" Asuka asked.

"Yes Asuka, I knew," Rei replied.

"Okay, that's fine…you know, I'm never quite sure with you sometimes," Asuka said.

"I know," said Rei, adding a quiet sigh afterwards.

I had no idea the extent of how well Rei and Asuka knew each other, but this was a pretty good indicator that they got on pretty well, in my opinion at least. "This is all too weird for me," Hikari muttered. I could sympathise with her, knowing her mindset on the issue. Hikari was your well behaved, faithful and endlessly humble student who always won the admiration of her peers. It was enough for her to be voted class representative on successive years. She worked for the system, not for her own means, but to make the system work well which was more than fair enough. Upon discovering that the machine meant to run classes and other school logistics smoothly was just a cover for an altogether more sinister operation, she must have become disillusioned with the system she previous served without question. Or maybe I'm looking into too deeply. There's that as well.

"You said it," said Asuka, agreeing with Hikari. "And who knows? Fuyutsuki might have bribed those officers to come after us."

"I never thought about that," Hikari gasped. "This could be more dangerous than we thought."

"I suppose," Rei noted. "But then again, we have knowledge on our side. There isn't much they can do to threaten us, and bribing us is never going to work."

"Rei's right," I said. "Still, we can't do this alone. We need help and the only person who could possibly do that at the moment is Kaji."

"And he's in the slammer," Asuka added.

It didn't look too good. "We had no idea who to turn to because we aren't sure who else will be under Fuyutsuki's web of influence. Plus, if Kaji's right about the mayor being involved, then that makes things suck even more for us," I muttered.

"The mayor's son…that rugby buff sleazebag," Asuka muttered. "Now I know how he got away with everything he did."

"What's his name again?" I asked.

"I have no idea. I never cared enough to ask," Asuka replied.

"Excuse me, but am I right in saying that we cannot trust anybody?" Rei asked.

"Pretty much. Kaji is the only guy we could have counted on," Asuka answered.

"You know, I kind of feel I was in the wrong room at the wrong time and heard the wrong things," Hikari moaned.

"You're involved like it or not. You know too much which immediately puts you in Fuyutsuki's bad books," Asuka pointed out.

"God…I never expected this to happen in a million years," Hikari said.

"It was…a surprise, yes," said Rei, agreeing in her fashion of completely understating everything.

I was about to say something, but then the phone rang. I looked at the three girls I was with and they all looked at each other. Who could that be? Could it be Kaji, having somehow escaped from the clutches of the corrupt? Or was it Fuyutsuki, issuing us his ultimatum. I approached the phone slowly and picked it up even more slowly, gradually bringing the handset closer and closer to my face. "Hello?" I said.

"Hello Shinji. It's your father."

"…Dad?"

"Yes, it's me. I'm aware of your situation. I'm also aware that Kaji has been apprehended."

"W-w-what? How do you know?"

"Don't think Kaji is the only person working for me. Fuyutsuki's secretary is one of my sleeper agents."

"Sleeper agent? Dad…what have you not been telling me?"

"What? That I was spying on your school to see if the headmaster was laundering money using the school as a cover operation? Sorry, but you were on a need-to-know basis there, son. And it's been a fairly long operation as well; we needed to compile evidence of every crime Fuyutsuki had committed, not to mention the mayor."

"Oh, well, when you put it that way."

"Sure. Listen, I'm arranging to have Kaji released. You are to meet up with him in two hours outside the Gainax Studios in downtown Tokyo-3."

"Arranged to have him released?"

"Yes, you can't keep an innocent man in custody. Especially if he was simply a surprise inspector speaking to some pupils."

"Ah…I see. Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Why the Gainax Studios?"

"Well…they make good anime. Although they do portray me in a bad light."

"W-what? What are you talking about?"

"Uh, never mind. Listen, just meet up with Kaji in two hours, got it?"

"Okay sure. Thanks for the help."

"And thank you for yours."

I placed the phone down and I faced my anxious company. "Well, what's the plan?" Asuka asked.

"Well, we're to meet Kaji in two hours at the Gainax Studios," I said.

"Kaji…he's being released?" Hikari asked.

"Well, he has an alibi, so he should be free to go," I replied.

"That's good," Hikari said.

"Why the Gainax Studios?" Asuka inquired.

"I have no idea," I said. "Something about making good anime."

"I could never imagine being an anime character," Rei mused. "Although somehow I feel walls are being broken."

"If we were in an anime, it couldn't be one of those high school love triangle things. For me, it would have to have giant robots in it, plus messed up Freudian psychology and lost of psychoanalysis of the characters. And my robot has to be red," Asuka chuckled.

"Why red?" Hikari asked.

"I dunno. I just like red," Asuka replied.

"Well, I can't imagine myself being anything other than a class rep," Hikari noted.

"And I get to be the brave hero?" I asked.

"Uh, somehow, I don't think so. Neither did Gainax," Asuka said.

"That sucks," I muttered. And like Rei, I did have a strange feeling that walls were being torn down all around me.

* * *

Those two hours seemed like an eternity as we simply sat around, waiting for the time to go by. And time does always go slowest when you wait for it to pass. Eventually, the time came for us to leave and make our way from uptown to downtown. We had to ditch as much as the school uniform as we could although that wasn't saying that much as the most we could afford to get rid of were the blazers. I offered as much clothing as I could for the girls but again, that was not much. Rei opted for a black t-shirt that seemed to compliment her plaid school skirt well. Asuka swapped her blazer for a blue hoody of mine while Hikari simply chose to ditch her blazer and go out in her school shirt and skirt. Me? Well, I had a complete change of clothes, just because I could.

We rode the train across town and tried not to look like a bunch of truants from the prestigious Tokyo-3 Academy. "You know Shinji," Asuka said, "this is almost surreal."

"Yeah, tell me about it," I agreed.

"And all because we walked into school together," Asuka said.

"Because of the rain," I added.

"Yeah, some luck, eh?" Asuka chuckled. "That rain's not letting up either."

"Asuka, after this is all over, how about we go watch a movie together or something?" I said, out of the blue.

"On the condition that you take me to a nice restaurant for dinner beforehand, then yes," Asuka replied spontaneously.

"There's a new fancy one near my place if you're interested. That's pretty good," Hikari pointed out. Maybe it didn't occur to her that I just asked Asuka out on a date? "My mother owns a restaurant," Rei added.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of it," Asuka said. "Then it's settled. I'll go see a movie with you if we eat at Rei's mum's restaurant beforehand."

"You know, I would have never imagined the day that someone outside your little gang would ask you out on a date," Hikari mused. Okay, so maybe she did know I was asking her out on a date and was just offering some advice. "Hikari! It's not a date!" Asuka cried. "It's just…you know, what friends do, right Shinji?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, yeah," I agreed, not wanting Asuka to get angry with me.

"Asuka…you know it's a date. Why else would Shinji ask you?" Hikari chuckled.

"Shinji, please tell her that it's not a date!" Asuka said. All I could manage was a shrug of the shoulders.

"Oh fine! Call it a date if you want!" Asuka cried. It wasn't like her to give up so easily on issues. Maybe it was because Hikari was always right. She seemed to have that kind of demeanour about her. "The only other person brave enough to ask you was the mayor's son, right? The captain of the school rugby team, what was his name again?" Hikari asked.

"I said already, I have no idea what his name was. He was like…a stalker," Asuka muttered.

"Surely you would have heard his name from somewhere?" said a bemused Hikari.

"I can honestly say I haven't," Asuka said.

"You know, he does seem like an important figure in our school hierarchy but nobody seems to know him name," I said.

"Do you know his name, Rei?" Hikari inquired.

"I don't know who he is," Rei replied blankly. She had a knack for sounding apathetic.

"What's the mayor's name?" Hikari asked next.

"Um…I'm sure I know this one…it's in there somewhere…no, it isn't. I don't know," I said.

"I don't know either," Asuka said.

"I am sure I saw it on TV at one point, but I'm struggling to bring the name to mind," Rei said.

"But at least all of us know who the Prime Minister is, right?" Hikari said.

"Oh yeah, I know the Prime Minister's name," I said. "It's just something about that rugby buff's family that makes you want to forget their names."

"Shinji," Asuka said.

"Hmm?"

"That's one of the most stupid things I've heard in a while," Asuka chided.

"Oh, okay," I said, feeling like I had been put down quite firmly.

It was odd how we were feeling relaxed in what had to be the most tense and dangerous part of our lives up to know. It's not every day you uncover a corrupt headmaster with a money laundering scheme set up with a high school set up as a front. Despite this, we still managed to talk like a normal bunch of friends. Sure, it did look like we were skiving off from school but apart from that, we were just a bunch of 16 year olds on a train going about.

We soon reached our stopped and disembarked the train and move quickly through the rain to the main gate of the Gainax Studios. Much to our dismay, Kaji wasn't there and there wasn't much cover from the continuing downpour. "What do we do now? Kaji isn't here," Asuka muttered with the hood up on the hoody she had borrowed from me.

"He'll be here," I said. "He has to be."

"Whatever you say," Asuka said.

After a five minute wait, the figure of Kaji appeared with a cigarette lit in his mouth. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. I got lost," Kaji said.

"You got lost?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm not too familiar with this part of town. Anyway, follow me to my car so that we can get out of this rain."

Once inside the man's car, he began to drive although I had no idea. "How did you get out?" Hikari asked.

"They let me go," Kaji said. "The officers that Fuyutsuki had been bribing were actually doing it on purpose, collecting evidence by doing so."

"Sounds like there's a big case on Headmaster Fuyutsuki," Asuka noted.

"We've all had our suspicions. We just need evidence for all the charges and I think we're just about at that point," Kaji said. "You know, this whole money laundering scheme isn't the thing that intrigues me the most."

"It intrigues you?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. But the thing that gets me is the social manipulation Fuyutsuki had going," Kaji said.

"Social…manipulation?" Asuka said.

"Yup. He exerted such control over the pupils in that school without anybody knowing it. Basically, he had a set of social norms established and would place students in those norms according to their personalities. He would achieve this by putting certain pupils in the same class, having some sit next to each other to try and encourage the building of these cliques. As I have said before, he would sometimes use force to try and get pupils to conform to these norms. Once his system was in place, the pupils would be in their own groups so that they would go about their days all fine and dandy without causing bother to the school or Fuyutsuki's secret operation," Kaji explained. "There were certain groups that would deviate from his norms however and the prime example is your little merry band Asuka."

"Little merry band," Asuka chuckled. "That's a good way of putting it."

"Indeed. At first, he saw your group as a threat, one that Fuyutsuki had not formulated himself but over time, it inadvertently became a social norm within the school so Fuyutsuki let it be. He was reckless though, because Asuka's group grew in power and influence to the point that a single disturbance to that group would cause the collapse of all his social norms. They were also physically becoming a disruptive influence as well which would affect his inspection scores which in turn affected the amount of money he pocketed. Fuyutsuki couldn't disband the group from the outside however; he needed it dealt with from the inside. It had to be done subtly though and when you and Shinji walked in together; it caused an upset in the entire social balance in the school, wrecking the fragile system Fuyutsuki worked so hard to maintain."

"I can't believe it. Headmaster Fuyutsuki was trying to control us socially to make us easier to contain?" Hikari asked.

"Exactly. He had everything set so that everyone would be as tame as possible. Obviously, with human nature involved, there was a lot of trial and error as well as several rethinks of his ideas but he essentially got it right, all without anyone ever suspecting a thing. Anyone who did was either threatened or paid off," Kaji replied.

"I never noticed any of that," I said, again in utter amazement at what Kaji had to tell us.

"Well Shinji, you yourself actually provide and interesting case study. From what I've found out Fuyutsuki could never fit you into a social norm, mainly stemming from the fact that you had no desire to be at the school. It is the same for Rei. However, Fuyutsuki underestimated the power of the individual and let you two be, assuming that no harm would come of just two pupils who failed to fit into any of his devised norms," Kaji said. "Yet you Shinji, became one half of the catalyst to rip apart the whole social structure."

"I still don't get it," Asuka said. "How could Shinji and I walking into school together mess everything up?"

"Like I said, your group had gained considerably more influence that Fuyutsuki would have like but the status quo of his system was still in place, if only just. When you and Shinji did what you did, it destroyed the foundation of the most powerful social group, one not formed by Fuyutsuki, causing a snowball effect on many of his other social groups. As you may have well noticed, it was almost a form of anarchy," Kaji explained. "It wouldn't have been the end of the world for Fuyutsuki but the complete breakdown of his system would have lost him one of his main objectives and that was to get the Tokyo-3 Academy to become part of S.E.E.L.E. This would have in turn provided him with more cash to pocket."

"I thought that he was just an ambitious, forward thinking headmaster but it turns out it was all to get money illegally," Hikari said.

"One man's ambition is another man's greed," Rei added philosophically.

"True," Kaji agreed.

Kaji continued to drive through the city and I began to wonder where we were going. So I asked him, "Kaji, where are we going?"

"Good question. I was just driving around in circles so I could explain stuff to you guys," Kaji said. "I don't really know where to go now."

Suddenly I was struck with an idea, "Hey, do you think we could go see Misato?"

"Misato? She was suspended from work, wasn't she?" Kaji asked.

"Yeah. Any idea where she is? We could bring her aboard," I said.

"Hold on a second; I'll phone her," Kaji said. After a brief conversation, Kaji chuckled and said, "Misato got wasted in the morning and has spent the rest of the day recuperating up in her flat. I think she'll be just about sober now."

"Misato isn't an alcoholic; she just loves drinking," I said quietly.

"Very true," Kaji agreed. "Anyway, she's agreed in principle for us to pay her a visit."

"Why in principle?" Hikari asked.

"Uh…she fell asleep before she could say 'yes'," Kaji replied.

"Oh my god," Hikari said.

"Sounds like Misato all right," Rei noted.

Kaji drove to Misato's flat and the five of us made our way up the stairs to her flat. Kaji rang the doorbell and after a short period of time, the door was answered by Misato. She didn't look well either, a bit like a zombie or something if you ask me. Her face was sallow and her eyes looking about ready to retract back into her skull. "I hope we haven't caught you at a bad time, honey," Kaji said with a smile.

"Shut up asshole," Misato muttered groggily. "Hi kids, just come inside and make yourself feel home." We all did the first part of that sentence but upon entering her flat, it was difficult to attempt the second. The place which Misato called home was an absolute bomb site. There were empty beer cans everywhere along with several months worth of unwashed dishes, refuse bags not thrown out, not to mention bits of clothing scattered about which included some 'exotic' undergarments.

"Would you wear something like that?" I blurted to Asuka upon seeing a thong on the floor that provided a bare minimum of modesty. It was an incredibly moronic thing to say but then again, I had already done it. "Shinji!" Hikari snapped angrily.

"I could if you wanted me to, Shinji," Asuka replied. I noted what Asuka said as something to use if I ever wanted to build sexual tension in one of my creative writing pieces. "WHAT?!" Hikari exclaimed.

"Oh…nothing," Asuka said, followed by a nervous chuckle. "I wonder how Misato lives in such a place."

"She just does. It's her way," Kaji said.

"It does seem a bit…carefree," was how Rei put it, again completely understating the utter mess that was Misato's flat.

Misato emerged from her bedroom in some casual clothes and sat on the sofa after moving a pile of DVDs and plates. Everyone else took seats wherever there wasn't a pile of clothes or beer bottles. "So, what brings you here?" Misato asked.

"Headmaster Fuyutsuki is using the school as a front so that he can launder money from behind the scenes as well as having a complex social system in place to maintain absolute order," I said.

"W-w-what? Shinji, you need to…slow down. My head still hurts," Misato said.

"How much did you have to drink?" I asked.

"I had…five tequila slammers…make that five doubles and many, many beers," Misato said. "I was happily drunk and at home asleep by 10 o'clock this morning."

"That's…pretty mad," was all I could muster.

"Anyway, what's this about Fuyutsuki being a bastard?" Misato muttered.

"I'll let Kaji explain," I said.

And Kaji did, going into detail about everything, speaking nice and slowly for Misato's fragile, hungover state. Once he was done, I said to Misato, "So, are you onboard to give us a hand?"

"On one condition," Misato said.

"And what's that?" Asuka inquired.

"You five…clean up my flat. In fact, I'll pay you to clean my flat and I'm on board with bringing Fuyutsuki down," Misato said. We all looked at each other with looks of shock and horror. Cleaning up Misato's flat? It very much seemed like the Augean Stables of Tokyo-3. And I was thinking Hercules had it easy compared to this.


	9. Raffle Prize Wine

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Evangelion, Top Gun, or any wine. You'll see why I mention Top Gun and wine!

**Author's Note:** I'll admit that the fourth wall breaking was unnessecary and about as subtle as a fireworks display. Still, I did it so yeah, whatever. Now, on with the story!

* * *

As I thought, cleaning Misato's flat required the Herculean effort I had expected and by the end of it, I had learned many things. First off, never date a woman who never cleaned up after herself and allowed mess to accumulate. Kaji was currently making that mistake by being engaged to Misato. I mean, sure, I don't mind keeping things tidy. In fact, I like having my stuff organised. However, Misato brought a whole new meaning to the word 'mess'. You could have gotten some street thugs to ransack every corner of her flat and you still probably wouldn't have gotten the same effect of Misato simply living in it. When I asked Kaji, who was very gracefully giving us his assistance, he said, "Let's just say that I won't be the one moving in with Misato."

"And how would you keep your place clean if she moves in with you?" I inquired next.

"Well…I would just have to."

It was a very weak answer but I guess it would have to suffice. I wouldn't have known how to deal with Misato's poor cleanliness. However, she didn't seem to be affected by her atrocious living conditions in terms of personal hygiene. I would even say she was one of the most well groomed people I knew. Let's not euphemise the fact that she was very attractive and she always looked her best whenever I saw her, minus today, where she looked considerably shattered from her morning drinking adventures. I'll admit this is the first time I've seen her hungover and even though you could still tell you was one hot mama; it was nevertheless not a pretty sight.

As well as that, I have learned more about both Asuka and Rei. First off, Asuka _always_ complains, whether it would be something horrible she found or something horrible she had to do, she would complain. And she would also make herself heard while complaining. I mean, don't get me wrong, she would get on with the job at hand but not without complaining first. You couldn't one minute without hearing, "Ugh, these noodles are going green," or "Yuch! There are bugs in that cup." My personal favourite was, "Oh my god! Look at this sock! I'm sure that a new, undiscovered colony of bacteria is festering in the toe! I mean, just look at it! Yuch!"

Asuka's constant complaining was juxtaposed by Rei _not complaining at all_. I mean, I'm sure that Rei had gotten worse than Asuka at times yet she kept her mouth shut and got on with the job. I mean, I'm sure she picked up a spoon that had some weird fungus growing on it and it smelled absolutely sordid! I asked her, "Rei, are you okay with that?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she would reply before placing it in another of our bin bags which would have to be bound to the nearest incinerator. I mean, the stuff we had would only be fit to be destroyed. No landfill deserved the dregs of Misato's flat.

Once we cleared out the mess, we went about reorganising, cleaning, disinfecting and polishing until the place was worthy of royalty. I really mean that. We worked until our knuckles bled so that any monarch in the world would walk into the flat and said, "Hmm, yes, this is splendid! I shall happily spend the night here." Once we were satisfied, Kaji went to wake Misato up. Yes, that's right. She was asleep through all of our labours and we had to work around her when we cleaned up her bedroom. That meant occasionally lifting her bed while she was still on it. And don't make me describe some of the things that we discovered under her bed. It made me physically shudder.

Once Kaji had awoken the recovering alcoholic, he led her out into the living room with his hands over her eyes. He then allowed Misato to see the fruits of our labour. "What the…do I live here?" Misato asked, obviously surprised to discover the colour of her carpet. Honestly, the mess was that bad. "This is where you live all right," Kaji said with a chuckle.

"My God, I never knew my flat could be so clean…" Misato said. She then spent the next five minutes touching things, like her fridge and her table, just to make sure that they were real and more crucially, as clean as they appeared. She had the demeanour of a five year old in a new environment, having to physically interact with every inanimate object in some way, just to confirm that they were there and that they were indeed as they appeared.

"Well, I think you guys have pulled off the impossible. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," Misato said after exploring her own home.

"Well, there is one thing you could do," Asuka said.

"And what's that?"

"Keep it clean. I don't think any of us could ever do this again."

Misato laughed and said, "Okay, I will do."

"So are you on board with us then?" I asked.

"I was always on board Shinji. I would have gone straight along with you guys but I think I was still a little bit drunk when I asked you to clean the place. Sorry," Misato said with a meek smile.

"Oh my god…" Asuka muttered before collapsing back onto one of Misato's sofas.

"On the plus side, I did say I'd pay you," Misato said.

"Nah, it's okay. I don't need the money," I said.

"Me neither," Hikari said.

"Yeah, I guess the money doesn't really matter," Asuka said, although she was visibly distraught that there was a chance she didn't have to go through what she just did.

"What about you Rei? Do you want all the money?" Misato asked with a chuckle.

"No thank you," Rei quietly answered.

"Ah well, I'll take you all out on a meal or something. My treat," Misato offered. "And I won't have that rejected! Are we agreed?"

We all nodded our heads and it was very nice of Misato to do that. She didn't have to after we rejected her offer of monetary compensation. "So, now that you're on board, what do you think we should do?" Hikari asked. She was clearly the most apprehensive out of all of us over this whole debacle and was keen to hear a solution. "Well, actually, I do have a plan of action," Misato said. "We'll use the wonderful thing known as the internet to spread the word."

"The internet?" I asked.

"That's right. I have a list of all the pupil's school e-mail addresses. By tomorrow, every single pupil will receive an e-mail containing details of Mr Fuyutsuki's scandal. Plus, if I use my school address, there would be no blocking or filtering with me as a teacher. And Kaji can use his official NERV e-mail as well," Misato explained. "As well as that, you guys can use your personal e-mail addresses to spread the word to all the personal addresses of pupils you know. That way, everyone should get the message one way or another. Also, Shinji, isn't your friend Kensuke a bit of a computer wizard?"

"Well, you could say that," I replied. "I mean, I've known that he hacks into military intranets and things like that."

"Good. Then he can hack the main page of the Tokyo-3 Academy's website and post the story everywhere. In fact, can you call him just now?"

I did just that and within about an hour, Misato's flat was becoming a hive of activity with laptops littered about the place with many of us getting to work on preparing the e-mail we would send to the one and a half thousand pupils of the Tokyo-3 Academy. Kensuke and Toji were our newest recruits in our attempts to get this new message across to the masses. At first, they were absolutely stunned to hear the story we had to tell them. I mean, I would have been as well. However, soon, they were on our team, helping us in our exploits.

It was only when I was sending e-mails to all my contacts from school did I realise the sheer brilliance yet magnificent simplicity of Misato's devised scheme. She had found the easiest way to spread as much information as possible which was just what we needed to do. When I spoke to Kaji about my admiration of Misato's plan, he smiled and said, "That's one thing about Misato; she can think of anything to get you out of a pinch. She's tactically minded yet strategic at the same time. In other words, she'll think about the big picture without forgetting the details and comes up with great ideas as well."

"I would have never guessed Misato was a thinker," I said.

"She's a thinker all right," Kaji said. "Her speciality is planning nights out, but she can think up almost anything if you put her up to it."

"Planning nights out?" I asked. "Do they even need to be planned?"

"If you're going to get as drunk as Misato often does, then yes, they do. She has everything from where she's going to go, how's she going to get there and how's she going to get back all set in stone. If there's even a shadow of doubt on any of those things, then she'll start planning again. So even if you get so drunk you can barely see, everything is still sorted," Kaji said.

"I honestly wouldn't have thought she put that much thought into getting wasted," I said.

"Listen, she even plans out how to fight a mugger or rapist depending on how drunk she is or who she's with," Kaji added. "Now that's commitment to the cause."

"Of…getting hammered?" I asked.

"Um…yeah. Commitment," Kaji replied, knowing that a commitment to getting drunk wasn't necessarily a good thing.

After getting Kaji's views on Misato's ability to scheme with the best of them, I asked her myself what she thought would come of her plan. "I'm expecting a mass boycott," Misato answered.

"A mass…boycott?" I asked, hearing what she had in mind, and liking it.

"Yeah. If most pupils simply refuse to go to the school, then the few that do go will so no reason to stay so I'm hoping for a complete boycott within a day or two. Once the story gets a little media coverage, then we're in business," Misato said.

"You know, I think you should be the headmistress once Fuyutsuki's ousted from power," I said, out of the blue.

"Me? Get out," Misato said with a smile. "Although I'm flattered you think I could run something as complex as a school, not to mention the academy."

"You'd get paid really well," I pointed out.

"In the end, I just want my money to pay for my drinks. Bills as well, I guess, but more so drinks," Misato said.

And that was that. We finished our operation for the day and it was decided that Asuka, Rei, Hikari, Toji and Kensuke would all stay at my house for the night. Naturally, I had no say in the matter. "What do you think Shinji? It'd be a good idea for everyone to stay, don't you think?" Asuka asked.

"I…um…"

"Good! I'm glad you agree!" Asuka said jubilantly.

"Asuka, I don't think he agreed…" Hikari started to say.

Asuka was quick to interject, "Yes, I know it's a little short notice but hey, his parents are out of the country!"

"Is Kaji not staying with Shinji at the moment?" Rei inquired tentatively.

"Ha! That's like not having parents around times two!" Toji cried. "Shinji, do you have food at your place?"

"Last time I checked, yeah. Why?" I asked, having not put up a fight to the idea of everyone staying over. I mean, it could be fun. "Because I'm starving! I didn't have my customary five sandwich lunch today because of the pandemonium so I could use something to eat."

Toji had the ability to eat through anything so the chaos must have really been bad if it had disrupted the flow of food into Toji's mouth. At that moment, Kaji came over to us and said, "Great work guys, a real job well done. Listen, Shinji, I'm…uh, staying with Misato tonight so, uh you have the flat to yourself."

I raised an eyebrow, "Getting lucky, are you?"

"Well, not really," Kaji replied. "We're…um…"

"Going at it?" Asuka offered.

"No, that's not it," Kaji said. "We're…oh man, I don't really want to say it…"

"Having intercourse?" Rei suggested.

"Nah, nothing to do with that…well, we might afterwards, but uh…" mumbled Kaji.

"Too much information," Hikari muttered.

Kaji looked like he was losing composure. That was an impossibility. It went against the laws of physics. That was like trying to divide a number by zero. It just didn't happen. Despite my misgivings, Kaji was as close as he could get to losing composure. "Why are you so embarrassed?" I asked. "I mean, we all know what you and Misato get up to after hours."

"Listen, it's not that. It's just…Misato and I…we're planning our wedding," Kaji said sheepishly.

"Aw, how sweet!" Hikari said, who revealed herself immediately as a sucker for the romantics.

"Yeah, we've been engaged a few months but never got down to planning the wedding so, yeah, here we are. We're going to set a time and place and get all the other stuff planned out," Kaji said.

"Well, best of luck to you!" I said. "And we're all expecting an invite!"

"You can count on that," Kaji said, reverting back to his 'cool' demeanour. "See you guys later!"

I would say that had been a productive day. Misato now has a clean flat and every pupil and member of the faculty will have an e-mail waiting for them exposing everything Fuyutsuki had been up to, even throwing in that bit about the mayor. I swear, you could start a revolution over the internet if you knew how to spread your information the right way. And Misato certainly knew how to start our small scale revolution.

It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening by the time we had arrived back at my flat. I didn't know why or how Asuka arranged this night at my place, but I guess she was so used to getting her way, it was pretty much settled once she had opened her mouth on the issue. "Hey, look, it's stopped raining," Hikari noted, looking out the sliding glass doors that led to the balcony.

"Hey, you're right," Auska said. "And the clouds have cleared up as well."

"The night sky…" Kensuke said.

"It looks beautiful," Hikari finished.

We ventured outside onto my balcony and found that the tiled floor was still wet from the rain that persisted from morning until night. Still, it didn't take away from the almost clear sky we were presented with. There were still some clouds lingering but you could see most of the stars and somehow the clouds added to the night's poignant beauty. To me, it was almost an allusion of change. The deceit behind the Tokyo-3 Academy was like the rain while the clearing skies represent that disappearing. Hopefully the same would be true of our attempts to bring Fuyutsuki down.

Once we headed back inside, Toji switched on the TV and got the Playstation 4 fired up and amusingly, it was Toji, Kensuke, Rei and Hikari playing it. Naturally, Toji chose a high octane first person shooter to play and while Hikari complained, I could sense a quiet determination from Rei. Then again, it could have just been indifference to the choice of game. I sat and watched them play while wondering at the same time where Asuka had went. She seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Asuka soon announced her arrival with a cry of, "Hey, look what I found!" I turned to see what she had found and I was absolutely mortified to see what she had stumbled across. "What? Why have you got two bottles of wine?" Hikari asked.

"Ask that to Shinji. He had them stashed in his room," Asuka replied. Suddenly, all eyes were on me. My answer was simple, if a tad embarrassing, "Um…I won them both at raffles at functions my parents dragged me along to when I was younger."

"So they would have aged a bit. Perfect!" Asuka said before heading off to my kitchen.

"Um…Asuka, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Getting glasses! What else?" Asuka replied.

"Glasses?! You don't actually plan on drinking that wine, do you?" I said in horror.

"Why not? It's not like I'm stealing it from your parents and besides, what's one glass of wine each going to hurt?" Asuka asked. "We did a good job today and we're all 16 so our bodies can take it."

Without even consulting anybody else, she had poured out glasses for each one of us and handed them out. Despite the fact that I was worried that she wanted us to drink wine while underage and unattended, I was silently relieved that she hadn't found the other five bottles of wine in my room that I had won at other random raffles. "Here's a toast to our success!" Asuka said. We all raised our glasses and took a drink of the wine. Admittedly, even for wine won at a raffle, it was pretty good. "I could get used to drinking this stuff," Asuka said.

"It is…rather pleasant," Rei admitted.

"Still, are you sure about this?" Hikari asked.

"Sure I am. I mean, what's one glass gonna hurt?" Asuka said.

One glass wouldn't have hurt, but three fairly full glasses each and two bottles later, it was a different story. Asuka had gone back into my room and searched for more wine with success, bring out the remaining five bottles. "Hey Shinji, look what I found!" Asuka cried. Yes, that's right. She was shouting. After the alcohol began to kick in, she had lost the use of her indoor voice. "Sweet!" I said, waving her over. What? Why was I saying that? Why wasn't I telling her harshly to put those away! That's what I normally would have done anyway.

"Asuka…this was the best idea, ever!" Kensuke said as he held out his wine glass. I think he was a bit more worse for wear than the rest of us I think but then again I couldn't really tell. This was the first time I had really drunk that much and I was preparing to consume more. "Tell me Asuka…why the hell you pick to be friends with Shinji anyway?" Toji asked, taking a sip of his wine afterwards.

"Why Shinji?" Asuka said. "Well, I dunno, probably because he was the biggest dweeb in the place!"

"Hey!" I retorted, a bit too loudly as well.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I dunno, he just seemed more down to earth…and stuff," Asuka said. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, something like that…although I've never forgiven you for pushing me into the girl's toilets that day," I said.

"She pushed you into the girl's toilets?!" Hikari exclaimed before laughing.

"Well, some of Asuka's fangirls were coming and stuff and that was where she hid me!" I cried.

I looked over to Rei who was glancing down at her empty glass. "I require more wine," she said, holding out her glass for more.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Toji cried.

"One thing you never told me, Asuka." I said, before taking a quick sip, "is how you and Rei were pals…I never figured that one out."

"I'll let Rei explain that one," Asuka said before downing her glass.

"Well, it's simple, really," Rei said. "I was in the library, looking for a good book and Asuka appeared and recommended me one. We ended talking about books for a whole hour until the end of school…that was about it."

"Ah! So you were library buddies?!" I asked, again, too loudly.

"Yes, that is one way of putting it," Rei said.

"That's so nice! I wish I could meet my friends in interesting ways!" Hikari said.

"You met me in an interesting way, right?" Toji asked, leaning over to Hikari.

"Get lost! You gave me the whole attitude when we met!" Hikari said. "You had your blazer in your hand slung around your back and when I told you to put it on, you went, 'and who are you to tell me?' I thought you were an asshole!"

"Well, you're dating one, so get used to it!" Toji laughed before getting a kiss form his girlfriend.

"Aw, guys!" Kensuke said.

This was getting out of hand. We were all approaching the point of getting drunk and everyone was making a concerted effort not to do anything about it.

"Speaking of kissing," Asuka said, leaning back to get an empty bottle of wine. "How about some spin the bottle?"

"No way!" Kensuke said.

"I'll take that as a yes then!" Asuka said.

"What is the aim of this game?" Rei inquired.

"Well, one person spins this here bottle, see? And whoever it lands on, that person has to kiss!" Asuka explained. "Simple, really."

"Ooh, spin the bottle, let meee go first!" Hikari said.

I think this was when we probably should have stopped drinking. However, it continued and my better judgement appeared to have deserted me. "Ooh, I get you Toji!" Hikari said gleefully when her bottle stopped spinning. She then leaned over and gave him a quick smooch on the lips before passing the bottle to Toji. We weren't just playing the game either, we continued drinking wine throughout. Toji spun and much to his horror, it landed on Kensuke. "Oh my god…" Toji muttered.

"Can we…uh, skip…this one?" Kensuke asked. However, Asuka, Hikari, Rei and I, and yes, I did say Rei as well, began to chant, "Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him!" It was moronic, it was stupid, but we were loving it.

"Argh! There is no way!" Toji said.

"We'll let you get away with a kiss on the cheek!" Asuka said.

"Okay…fine," Toji said. He swallowed every ounce of pride he had and for a fraction of a second his lips touched Kensuke's cheek before he violently pulled away and immediately crossed his arms. "This game sucks!" Toji immediately declared.

"Yeah, I agree!" Kensuke added. It was enough to make us all laugh at their plight.

"Okay, next to spin is Rei!" Asuka said, passing the bottle to Rei. She spun it fairly slowly but it did manage to spin several times before landing on me. I gulped and looked towards Rei who didn't flinch at all. In fact, she still looked indifferent. "So, do I just have to kiss Shinji?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's it," Hikari replied. Rei moved towards me and before I could think planted her lips on mine. It was strangely pleasant in my current frame of mind and I couldn't help but linger just a little bit. When Rei stopped I could tell Asuka had been poised to stop us. She retracted her stance though and the bottle was passed to her. She then spun it as violently and as hard as she could to make it as random as possible. Yet, by some intervention of fate or irony, it landed on me once again. "Hah! Shinji's getting more than he bargained for!" Toji laughed.

"Go Shinji!" Kensuke said before adding a wolf-whistle.

I slowly turned towards Asuka and she had a look of grit and determination on her face which, in all honesty, scared me a little. "Here we go, Shinji," she said before our lips were pressed together. However, I suddenly lost balance and fell onto my back, yet, Asuka was still able to keep her lips pressed to mine. It was…I don't know, but it kind of felt like her lips were almost meant for mine, as corny as it sounds. To be honest, I probably wasn't thinking that at that moment in time, considering that I had drunk four and a half glasses of wine. Eventually, she broke off the kiss, downed the remainder of her fifth glass and declared, "Drinking games I say! Drinking games!" It was enough to ward off any talk of Asuka deliberately kissing me for as long as she had.

The only one Asuka could think of was the Top Gun drinking game, where all parties involved would take a drink of their beverage of choice whenever a callsign such as 'Maverick', or 'Goose', for example, was uttered. It was deviously simple and a deviously simple way to get drunk, which I'm sure all of us were now. After about twenty minutes into the film, I had to switch the TV off because it was getting stupid. As well as that, we were all stupidly drunk. From here on out, I don't really remember what happened. What I do recall is sitting on the sofa with Asuka for a long time. I think my arm was around her and we were…kissing, I think?

I think getting drunk was probably the stupidest and most moronic thing we could have done that night.


	10. The New Headmaster

Disclaimer: I've recently acquired all the rights to Evangelion. You can probably read all about it in an anime news magazine or website.

Pffft, yeah right.

* * *

I opened my eyes to find that I was lying on my back on top of my parent's prized glass coffee table. On either side of my head were empty wine bottles. I sat up slowly, expecting to feel incredibly ill, remembering how Misato would often turn up in class hungover. Strangely, I felt fine and stood up to survey the mess we had caused. Asuka was still on the sofa, sucking her thumb in her sleep of all things. Toji and Hikari were on the floor behind the sofa Asuka was on, hand in hand, which was a rather cute sight. Kensuke was soundly asleep in front of my laptop, which was still switched on, at the dining table. It took a while to find Rei but eventually I discovered that she was in the bathtub, fully clothed may I add, clutching a hold of an empty wine bottle. Looking at it all, it was quite hilarious where and how we all ended up. Still, I had no idea how I ended up on the coffee table as well as why I didn't have a hangover.

I jogged my memory but it kept on going back to the last thing I did remember which was Asuka and I making out on the sofa. I couldn't quite remember how we ended up doing that either, but we did and that was pretty much that. I pondered whether it would be a good idea to ask Asuka or not about it. That probably depended on her fettle when she woke up. "Argh! My head…damn, I feel like crap!" That outburst was from the newly arisen Asuka who, from the sound of things, had a hangover. I glanced over toward her which was sharply replied with, "Shinji! Why the hell did you have to wake me up?!"

I blinked and said, "But I didn't…"

"Yes you did! Why do you think I'm awake now?!" Asuka interjected. "Agh! Who thought that drinking too much made you feel like shit afterward."

"It's called a hangover," I pointed out, rather feebly.

"Yes, I know what it's called! Damn, now I know how Misato felt all those times in class," Asuka muttered, thinking about Misato as well on the subject of hangovers. Then, she sharply turned her head towards me and I swear, that evil look she had on her face simply drained the life out of me. "What about you? Where's your hangover?!" she snapped.

"Um, I don't have one," I replied. "Maybe I don't get them?"

"Oh great," Asuka said. "I guess I have to say you were right. We shouldn't have drunk so much."

"When did I say that?" I asked, rather confused.

"I don't remember, I just remember you did," Asuka said.

"What else do you remember?" I inquired, wondering if she would recall what I did.

"We were both on the sofa making…out," replied Asuka, her voice going quieter at the end of her sentence. And I swear, for the first time in my life, I saw Asuka blush in embarrassment.

"Is something the matter?" I said.

"We were both drunk! Those things happen, right? Hehe, I mean, yeah, get over it. As if I would want to kiss you!" Asuka said, laughing nervously.

"Huh?" I said, my naivety getting the better of me.

"Um, it's nothing. Listen; forget about what happened between us last night for a bit. We'll…we'll talk about it later," Asuka said. "You know…whether we're going to take this seriously or not."

"Seriously?" I asked, again, sounding absolutely clueless.

"Never mind. Like I said, we'll talk about it later," Asuka said. "Anyway, shouldn't we do something about this mess?"

"Yeah, we should clean up before Kaji gets back," I said. Then the seriousness of our actions dawned on me. "Wait…if Kaji catches us, we're dead!" I said in a wild panic. "Oh my god, no! WAKE UP EVERYBODY! WE NEED TO CLEAN UP!"

"Shinji, calm down!" Asuka hushed. However, it was too late. My cries woke everyone in the flat up. And probably the neighbours too. "Who, what, when, where?" Toji asked with one eye still trying to stay shut.

"We need to clean up this mess!" I said.

"Oh right," Toji said. "Well, wake me up when you're done." Much to my absolute shock, he simply lay back down and went back to sleep. Hikari looked down at him and frowned. "You lazy bastard," she muttered before turning to me. "Don't worry, I'll get him properly awake and we'll help you tidy up. Is Kensuke up?"

"Yeah," Kensuke muttered very groggily, wondering across from the dining table. "I think I had too much."

"We all had too much," Hikari pointed out. "Where's Rei?"

"She's asleep in the bathtub," I replied.

"What?! You just walked in on her?!" Asuka exclaimed.

"No, wait! Not like, in the bathtub, bathing. Just...in the bathtub! That's where she fell asleep!" I babbled, trying not to get a beating from Asuka. I didn't want a repeat of that limousine incident. That was far too painful.

"What appears to be the matter?" Rei asked, emerging from the bathroom, looking very grumpy.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Asuka said, who was trying to hold back giggles after seeing Rei look so moody.

"I have a hangover and I am not happy about it," Rei muttered. "Let's just do what we need to do so I can go back to sleep or hit something."

"Whoa, I've never seen Rei this passionate about anything," Toji muttered.

"Shut up," she snapped.

It was incredibly odd. Rei was in a very irritable state which was both funny and strange. With the way she usually is, this made an odd change, even if it meant that she would probably poke my eyes out if I pissed her off in this state. "I swear, if anybody pisses me off, I'll poke their eyes out," Rei muttered as she went to working cleaning the mess around the bathroom door. I blinked in shock after she just said what I had thought in my head before shaking my head and getting to work on making the place look like it wasn't the site of an underage drinking fest.

* * *

It took about half and hour but it was well worth the effort as the place looked like it hadn't been touched at all. "Everything's clean," I said with the relief evident in my voice. "I was really scared someone would walk in on us cleaning up."

"As long as the wine bottles were out of sight, then there's no trouble. We just made a mess, that's all," Kensuke said.

"Mr Counter-Strike pwner of all things n00bish makes a good point there," Toji noted. "There was no reason to be so stressed Shinji."

"Well, you did keep falling asleep every five minutes!" I snapped.

"Um, yeah, but just chill, that's all of it done now," Toji said.

"I'm fine now," I said. "Everything is all right now. There is no problem."

Asuka had collected all of the bottles and placed them on the dining table so that we could bag them and get rid of them. "Shouldn't we recycle them?" Hikari asked.

"Screw recycling them! We just need to get rid of them!" Asuka said. She was right, but something wasn't right about the bottles. "Um…why are there more bottles than what I remember us drinking?" I said worriedly.

"I don't know. Maybe we drank more?" Asuka suggested.

"I only had seven bottles in my room and those were all fairly cheap bottles," I explained.

"Then what about the other ones?" Hikari said.

We moved forward to investigate and much to my horror, I found another four bottles of very expensive looking chardonnay along with the seven I thought we drank. "It says these bottles were 20 years old at sale," Kensuke noted, scanning them over. "These must have been very, very expensive."

"Holy crap," I said, suddenly feeling all faint and the knees and finding it necessary to take a seat. "We…drank even more after those first bottles?"

"Looks like it," Kensuke noted. "This isn't good, isn't it?"

"Four bottles of very expensive chardonnay just don't go missing. My parents are going to find out one way or another," I said.

"Well, just buy more bottles to replace them. None of us are short of money, right?" Asuka suggested hopefully.

"We're all underage!" I cried in exasperation. "We'd have to get someone who is old to buy it for us."

"What about Kaji?" Toji asked.

"What do you mean, 'what about Kaji'? He works for my dad! There's no way in hell that would work!" I shot back. However, there was doubt even in my voice about that statement and everybody picked up on it. Soon, I had five pairs of eyes looking at me very intently.

* * *

"This is a very nice present you guys are buying Shinji's parents," Kaji noted with a bag with five bottles of chardonnay. "This is good stuff too. 20 years old, in fact." Toji and Kensuke came up with the crazy scheme of getting Kaji to buy the chardonnay for as under the guise that it would be an anniversary present for my parents. And ironically, it was my parent's anniversary today, as well as the day that they got back from their holiday. I expected them to arrive some time this evening. Talk about cutting it close! "Why did you get five though?" Kaji asked.

"Uh…we got five because…um, well, there were four spaces left to fill in the wine cabinet and one for them to enjoy when they get back! Yeah, that's it…" I said nervously. Talk about an improvised answer. I glanced towards the others and they were all wiping the sweat from their foreheads at this point. "That's really nice of you guys. It was an expensive present, but then again you would have no trouble with that, huh?" Kaji chuckled, placing the bottles into the wine cabinet and leaving one out on the table, along with two wine glasses and anniversary card I asked Kaji to get. "Well, everything's set. I have to get back to Misato's but call me if you need anything else."

Kaji made his way out and all of us collapsed onto the sofas. "You guys need to square that money up to me," Asuka muttered. She had ended up paying the most out of all of us and although she did accept responsibility for getting us started on the wine, we still all could have said no so she was right in wanting to spread the bill for this cover up operation evenly. "Kaji is rather gullible," Rei noted. She sounded a bit more like herself now. Maybe her hangover was easing up. "I can't believe he actually fell for that. Did he realise how much money we needed to spend to get five bottles of that stuff?" Hikari asked.

"I guess he never thought about it," I said. "Maybe he had other things on his mind."

"That's true," Hikari noted. "Anyway, I should be getting back home. My parents are probably wondering why I haven't come back in time for school."

"Ah, same here," Toji said.

"Me too," Kensuke added. "I forgot about that."

"I am required to leave as well," Rei said. "My gratitude for an entertaining night."

"Yeah, what she said!" Toji laughed. "Anyway, we better rush! It's almost 10 o'clock! See you later!"

Soon everybody bar Asuka had left for their homes. I had completely forgotten about school and that we were the first ones boycotting the place. "Hey Asuka, shouldn't you be getting back as well?" I asked.

"Nah, it can wait a while," she replied. "Actually, want I wanted to have a talk with you."

"A talk? About what?" I said.

"About…you know, what we did last night," Asuka answered.

"Oh…that," I said. "I thought you said to forget about it."

"I said to forget about it for a while. I also said I wanted to talk about it," Asuka pointed out irately.

"Sorry, I was just too caught up in this mess," I replied. "If you want to talk, then go on ahead."

Asuka nodded her head before turning away from me. She slowly paced towards the balcony door before heading outside. She appeared to be in an odd mood and I wanted to know why. I followed her outside, keeping my mouth shut as I did. She moved towards the balcony railing and began looking out toward the city and the mountains in the distance. I stood behind her and off to her right, watching her every movement, seeing if they indicated anything of what was on her mind. However, she stood still and didn't let on at all. The one thing I could tell that she wasn't acting herself.

"You know Shinji," she said slowly. "We've only really known each other for what, two weeks or something right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "It's been about that."

"And in that time, we ended up being good friends," Asuka noted.

"Friends? Well, I guess yeah, we are friends. We hung about with each other a lot, anyway," I added with a smile.

Asuka chuckled quietly before running her right hand through her hair. She then turned to face me and leaned back on the railing. "Something…something in my mind is telling me…and after what happened with us last night…something is telling me that…we should be…more…" Asuka said before stopping suddenly. She looked incredibly nervous. It wasn't like her at all. "We should be more what?" I asked tentatively. I wasn't sure what her response would be but I wanted to know. "We should be…more than…"

The telephone began to ring just as Asuka was about to finish her sentence. However, I wasn't going to answer it until I found out what she had to say. "You should probably answer that," Asuka said.

"No, I want to know what you have to say," I insisted.

"Just…answer the phone, okay? It might be important," Asuka said. I frowned, but went with Asuka on this one. Whatever she had to say, I guess it could wait until later, unlike this impending phone call. I went inside to answer it and it was a familiar voice on the other end. "Hey Shinji! It's me, Misato."

"Oh, hey there. How's it going?"

"The wedding's all planned! I'm so excited!"

"Really? When is it?"

"Two months from now. You'll find out more about it when the invitations go out. Anyway, that isn't the reason I called."

"So what is?"

"Turn on your TV and watch the news."

I held the phone between my cheek and my shoulder before picking up the TV remote. After turning it on, I went to the first major news channel I could think of before dropping the remote out of my hand in absolute astonishment. "See it yet?" Misato asked.

"That's…that's the academy!" I cried. "All the pupils and teachers are walking out!"

"Looks like our plan is working! Anyway, I've got to go. Keep watching that report!" Misato said before hanging up.

I couldn't believe it. Barely half a day after we sent all those e-mails, pupils and teachers were leaving the school in protest and it was enough to gain national media coverage! "Asuka! Come, look at this!" I yelled. She walked in and glanced over at the TV and all of a sudden, her eyes lit up. "What?! Are you telling me it's working already!" she asked, bounding up next to me.

"Yes and it's on national television!" I added. "I can't believe it!"

"Shh! Listen to the report, I want to know what's going on!" Asuka snapped.

"…and as you can see, these are live pictures we are showing of the Tokyo-3 Academy. The latest reports say that all the pupils and staff minus the headmaster, Kozo Fuyutsuki, have walked out in protest. We cross live to our reporter on the scene, Hideko Anno. What do you have for us, Hideko?"

"Well, from what I've heard, the walk out was caused by a series of e-mails sent to all the pupils and members of the faculty by several unknown parties. The sender's e-mail address is blocked out on each e-mail. Now, as to the contents of this e-mail, we have a copy right here. It unveils an apparent scandal of epic proportions on the part of Kozo Fuyutsuki that involves money laundering, bribery, falsification of official documents, fraud and even social manipulation. The credibility of the source of these e-mails is uncertain, but members from NERV, National Education Review and Verification, have expressed a desire for Fuyutsuki to stand down as headmaster and some others going with an even stronger opinion saying that Headmaster Fuyutsuki should be arrested and tried in a court of law."

"So is there any indication of what action may be taken?"

"It is unclear at present but…hold on. It appears that police have appeared on the scene. What's that…? Yes? Really? Well, we have some breaking news for you right now. The police have arrived on the scene and are moving in to arrest Kozo Fuyutsuki. I repeat, the police have arrived at the Tokyo-3 Academy to arrest Kozo Fuyutsuki."

"Well, you heard it first here. Also, we're having more breaking news being wired into the studio as we speak. It appears that the Mayor of Tokyo-3 has been forced to step down due to some of the content of those e-mails. I say again, Mayor…"

Having heard enough, I switched the television off and looked towards Asuka. "We did it Shinji!" she cried before frantically grabbing and wildly hugging me. Sure, she was excited but what did we exactly do? I mean, ousting Fuyutsuki was a good thing but none of it would probably prevent me from having to go to the Tokyo-3 Academy again. So in essence, I had failed my own ambition of never going to that school again. Then again, that hope was misguided and looking at the other side of the coin, maybe things would change and make it a better place to be after this all settled down.

"Hmm? Is anything the matter Shinji?" Asuka asked. She had obviously noticed the disappointed look on my face. I shouldn't have felt that way though because I had been dreaming of an impossibility. I had to finish school and the only way out would be a transfer. I had always yearned to switch schools before but my parents prevented that move. Had the opportunity been given to me a couple of weeks ago, I would have taken it without hesitation. Thinking about it now, I'm quick to hesitate, as if there's something keeping me from leaving. Then, when I looked at Asuka's worried face, I realised what it was. The reason I wasn't so keen on leaving the school is the friends that I've made in the past two weeks, as well as realising the importance of the ones I already had, namely Toji, Kensuke and even Misato and Kaji. And then there was Asuka and Rei and recently Hikari, people that I never really knew before until now. Those people were the reason I didn't want to leave so badly anymore. In a school filled to the brim with snobby and unbearable rich kids, I managed to find a few people I could really relate to and call my friends. And that was enough to put a smile on my face.

"Nothing's the matter," I said. "Anyway, we should meet up with Misato. I'm sure she wants to celebrate!"

"Haha, yeah, she sure would!" Asuka laughed.

"Also, about that thing you wanted to tell me?" I asked.

"Later Shinji, later," Asuka said. "It's not that important anyway."

"Well, okay. I'll call the other guys and we'll head off to Misato's!" I declared with that smile stilled proudly worn on my face.

* * *

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life and I'm feeling good. Well, I had been feeling good until I discovered something last night. We had a party at Misato's to celebrate and this time, there was no underage consumption of alcohol. I didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of not remembering half of what you did the previous night so I think it's for the best. Then there was the bad news. Because Fuyutsuki had been arrested, Misato's suspension had been withdrawn and she was required to go to school the next day. The same went for all of us; we had to go to school as well which was a bummer, but then again not all too unexpected.

So here we were, in Misato's registration class once again. From today, we would be allowed to sit where we wanted as Misato no longer received seating plans issued from the headmaster's office. With that new initiative, Toji, Kensuke, Asuka, Rei, Hikari and I were all situated in and around the same area in the classroom. That suited us a lot better because it made mornings at lot more pleasant and we could chat easily to each other. Some things never change though, as Misato stumbled into class late and with a suspected hangover judging by the look on her face.

Immediately after she sat down, she groaned before calling me. "Shinji?"

"Yes?" I replied.

"The new headmaster wants to see you in his office," Misato said.

"Oh, in trouble already hot shot?" Asuka laughed.

"I wonder who the new headmaster is," Toji noted.

"Well, I'll tell you when I get back," I said. I got out of my seat and made my way jauntily towards the headmaster's office. I knocked on the door once I got there and I got a call of, "Come in." For some reason, the voice sounded familiar.

When I walked inside, I was in for the biggest shock of my life to date. The headmaster was dressed in a black jacket, wearing white gloves and had red-tinted glasses on. He sat with his hands clasped together in front of his mouth with a blank, emotionless stare. "What the…what are you doing here?!" I cried in a horrified tone.

"Maybe I forgot to tell you, Shinji. I was offered the job of headmaster for this school because of my NERV credentials, and I duly took it," my father replied coldly.

"No way…you're the headmaster?!"

"That is correct Shinji. I talked this over with your mother as well."

All the shock that overcame me when I walked in suddenly disappeared. "Oh, okay. Well, catch you around dad," I said.

"See you later," my father said.

After walking out of the office having discovered who the new headmaster was, I wondered what was in store during my continued tenure at the Tokyo-3 Academy. It certainly wouldn't involve money laundering headmasters, anyway. Well, I hoped it wouldn't involve money laundering headmasters.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, there ends Part 1, or the first 'saga' of the Tokyo-3 Academy. I'm going to keep writing this and see what happens! I have something in mind already for the next chapter or two, so expect to see updates sometime in the near future!


	11. The New Guy and Things Best Left Unsaid

**Author's Note:** As you may, or may not have as the case may be, I haven't updated this or any of my stories in a while. A little thing called university got in the way and while I could have attempted to update, I feared it may turn up half-assed. So now I'm back on Christmas break, providing you with more goodness! Expect a Christmas story from me as well soon!

And so begins the second 'saga' of the Tokyo-3 Academy. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed the story thus far. I have no idea what's in store for the next ten chapters which is, well, exactly how it was for the first ten! If a plot develops, then you can bet it was random and inspired! Anyway, enough babbling from me! On with the story!

* * *

It was odd being at school again. The whole Asuka being a popularity goddess thing seemed to die out pretty quickly, which was what she wanted but still, adjustments had to be made. I mean, we still sometimes looked around before leaving the classroom together which I guess was instinct, but unnecessary in the new social climate of the school. People had come to accept that the two of us were now friends and that was just the way it was now. Then again, there were those who didn't really want to adjust. The best and well, only example of those pupils were Asuka's last remaining and infinitely hardcore fangirls. "Please Asuka! We need you!" they would cry, oh so incessantly. It was incredibly annoying and I had to stop Asuka from attacking her former fangirls. Well, actually, they were still Asuka's fangirls. That didn't change. What did was that Asuka no longer had any desire to bear them anymore.

It was pathetic, if you asked me. They were like little parasites that needed a host body to survive. If they don't have a host, they died and although they made every attempt to try and get their host back, they would soon perish. Like a parasite that feeds off the nutrients in their host, these sad little girls fed off the popularity that seemed to glow from Asuka. Now they didn't have that anymore. They didn't have a life left to life. Maybe I am being a bit too harsh, but hey, I tell it like I see it.

Even the rugby buffs quickly adjusted and they switched to stalking the cheerleading squad. It suited everyone fine because I'm sure the cheerleaders loved that sort of attention. They probably didn't even classify what the rugby buffs were doing as stalking so everyone is happy. Everyone, except Rei, that is.

"Nobody likes us anymore!" cried one of Asuka's fangirls. "Will you be our friend, Rei?" I literally began rolling on the floor in laughter while Rei sighed and gave them a polite but stern no. It had been on of the most hilarious starts to any day I've had at this academy. "I do not understand their sudden desire to be friends with me," Rei muttered when those fangirls needing somebody to be a fan of disappeared.

"They're desperate for anybody now. They had been pestering Asuka at first but now they're going to anybody. I mean, look at them now," I said.

Rei and I glanced down the corridor to see those fangirls asking the same thing they asked Rei to a very annoyed looking Hikari. "I see. They didn't have a sudden desire to be friends with me. They simply wanted a friend," Rei noted oh so well.

"You got that right," I agreed, still with the remnants of my laughter lingering on.

There were a few quiet days like that where the pupils of the school readjusted to the new ways of our school. It was also a time for people to readjust to the new headmaster. "Excuse me," I heard my father say. I was with Toji and Kensuke at the time and we all turned to see if Gendo was dealing with a troublemaker. And by some miracle, he was. We could see if my dad had what it took to be the head honcho around these parts.

"What are you doing?" my father asked, rather quietly. We struggled to hear him.

"Uh, nothing," the troublemaker in question, a guy in my year in another class.

"As soon as you say nothing, young man, it immediately implies that you're lying. So now you have two choices. You can either admit to me that you're lying or I'll find out that you're lying. Either way, I will find out," Gendo said in a very low and disturbingly scary voice.

"I'm sorry sir, I was lying! I was only delivering a love letter for my friend, I swear!" the boy babbled.

"It is not against the rules to do so. Next time you do it, don't look so suspicious," Gendo said before walking off.

Toji, Kensuke and I were left in disbelief at how effective his little chat with the supposed troublemaker was. "Shinji…since when has you dad been this badass?" Toji asked.

"I…I don't know. I've never seen him do that before," I muttered, still stunned at his demeanour.

"That must be how he did so well in business," Kensuke remarked. "He didn't succeed over rival companies; he chewed them up and destroyed them."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Toji said.

"That's because you actually couldn't," Kensuke replied with a smile.

"Hey!" Toji cried.

So that brings us to today, a week since the Fuyutsuki takedown, as I call it. I woke up at my usual time and looked forward to a nice, fully cooked breakfast. Since my parents were back, Kaji wasn't around so we weren't eating toast all the time. That was about the only upside though because Kaji is probably the coolest guardian around. And he still hasn't realised that we had been drinking in this very living room that night oh so long ago.

"Shinji! Your breakfast is getting cold!" my mum shouted from the kitchen.

"I'm coming mum!" I said, grabbing my morning food at eating it at the dining table. My father was there already, reading a newspaper. "Good morning," I said to my father, out of courtesy. I received a grunt as an answer which was all I expected really. I made quick work of my breakfast but just before I left the house, my mother stopped me. "Shinji, wait for your father!" she called.

"Wait for my…what? Why?" I asked.

"Because he's walking to school with you," she replied.

"Walking to…school with me?" I asked with my jaw hanging open longer than I would have liked.

"Shinji? Is anything wrong?" my mother asked. I didn't reply. This would be a very, very interesting experience.

* * *

"So, uh, what's the reason for you walking to school with me?" I asked.

"I just wanted to see what walking to school was like," my father replied, walking with his hands behind his back and looking around as much as he possibly could.

"Well, it's nothing too exciting," I said.

"It is just something I have never done before," my father pointed out. "I never really walk anywhere."

"It's good for you…I guess," I offered weakly. I tried to hide the fact that I found this all incredibly awkward but then again, I assumed he already knew. "I do understand the health benefits of walking but I have never really seen the need to do it, especially at this point in my life. Today I was just…curious," Gendo pointed out.

"Um, okay," I replied, again, not really knowing what to say at all. "Well, I guess you can see my walk to school…and stuff."

I couldn't really hide the fact that it was awkward. We never spent time together so this was almost a novelty. In fact, it was. The novelty wore off when we arrived at school and went our separate ways. We truly did live in different worlds, my father and I. Despite me being his only son, we were so unlike each other it was uncanny. My father was all about business whereas I was all about a good time and procrastination. I guess it was a difference I was more than happy to accept.

I entered my registration classroom and saw that Misato was fast asleep at her desk. She was typically either late or asleep at the front of the class. I nudged her ever so slightly to snap her back into the world of the living. "Who…what…where?" she mumbled in confusion.

"Good morning Misato," I said with a smile.

"Oh, it's just you." She rubbed her head whilst leaning back in her seat. I assumed she was hungover. "Out last night?" I inquired.

"No…I was having dinner with Kaji and…damn, far too much wine," Misato muttered.

"It was Monday last night. You know that right?" I asked.

"I know…that's why now I think it was a bad idea," she said. "I must have had two whole bottles to myself…"

"I think that's called alcoholism," I pointed out.

"No, it's only called that if you need it, like an addiction. I just do stupid stuff like that anyway," Misato countered. "Anyway, I need to check what I'm actually meant to do this morning. Thanks for waking me up."

"No problem. Have a good day, Misato," I said.

"You too."

I took my usual seat and as usual I found Toji and Kensuke discussing matters of great importance to the human race. "Let's get this straight. You did not own me at counter-strike in the computer room yesterday," Kensuke said. "I was running and your grenade just happened to be in my path."

"Owned," was Toji's smug reply.

Feeling the need to add my input, I said, "If it's any consolation, I did take you both out at the same time."

"True, but you also came last out of the many people playing," Kensuke pointed out.

"That's true," I admitted. I did royally suck at Counter-Strike. I mean, even Asuka's better at it than me. In fact, I think she was the best out of all of us at Counter-Strike. Even better than Kensuke. That's scary.

Soon, the bell rang that indicated the start of the daily routine which started with Misato taking the class register. It was all run of the mill stuff until there was an added extra. "Okay class. Today for the first time in the while, we will be having a new addition to the class," Misato said.

"A new guy in the class?" Kensuke noted to us. "It's seems so pointless this close to summer break."

"Transfers happen all over the place," Toji said with an added yawn as if he needed to emphasise his nonchalance even more.

"Class, meet your new classmate," Misato said before handing over to the new guy.

"Hello. My name is Kaworu Nagisa and I am 17 years old. I'm transferring down from up north and I am very happy to be joining your class."

I studied his outward appearance and demeanour and one thing immediately came to mind. This Kaworu Nagisa character came across very strongly as a pretty boy. I didn't think I'd be seeing too much of him. "Thank you Kaworu. Take your seat over there," Misato said. "Hikari, make sure that Kaworu gets settled in well."

"Yes Miss!" Hikari responded, diligent and studious as ever.

"Thank you. Okay, that's everything for this morning. Leave as usual when the bell rings," Misato said. Kaworu sat across the other side of the class where he was getting ogled intently by the girls in his general vicinity. I was right; he did fit into the mould of your stereotypical pretty boy. I would definitely not be seeing much of him.

After morning registration, I met up with Asuka by the lockers so that we could head off to physics together. It was still beyond me why I ever picked physics but as Asuka was a genius at it, I could always get her to help me if I was stuck. That was often. "So Shinji," Asuka said. "Are you looking forward to this weekend?"

"This weekend?" I asked. "Um, what's to look forward to?"

"You amaze me with how stupid you are," Asuka moaned. I usually managed to keep Asuka off moaning at me for at least 5 minutes so I must have really managed to annoy her early in the game today. "Well, I don't really know what's so special about this weekend," I pointed out.

"Okay Shinji, let me put it this way. We have person x, who also happens to be an idiot. Let's hypothesise that person x, because he is an idiot, forgot that his 17th birthday is this weekend."

"Holy crap! My birthday is this weekend?!" I exclaimed.

"And how in the world could you forget your own birthday?" Asuka asked.

"It just slipped my mind, that's all!" I said.

"So you haven't planned a party or anything, I take it?"

"No! I'm going to have to. Asuka, invite people for me!"

A look of absolute astonishment came across the redhead's face. "Invite…people for you?" Asuka asked.

"Well, you were into the whole popularity party thing. Invite people, get things moving…in fact, I dub you official party planner!" I said.

"Shinji…I'm telling you lovingly that you're an idiot but yes, I'll do it," Asuka said with a sigh.

"Really?" I asked.

"I love planning parties. You checkmated me there," Asuka said with a smile that seemed to reminisce about many a party planned.

I've never really had a large scale party thrown for me before but for some reason, now it seemed like a good idea. I ran the thought by Toji and Kensuke at lunchtime to get their opinion on it all. "Asuka is planning the party you say?" Kensuke said. "Very interesting."

"What? Interesting as in a good thing or bad thing?" I inquired.

"You ignorance of Asuka's reputation shocks me Shinji, considering that you're her friend," Toji said.

"Huh?" I said, having to blink at Toji's words.

"Shinji," Kensuke said, "part of the reason why Asuka was so popular was that she could throw the biggest, most spectacular parties which all the upper class kids wanted. Depending on who the person was and who their friends were, she could throw the right kind of party. She knew what venue to book, what food to get, what drinks to get, what music to play, everything."

"Oh," I said. "I was totally unaware of any of that."

"And you call her your friend," Toji scoffed.

"Hey, I used to hate her for her popularity. Her party planning was part of her popularity, so I guess I would have been ignorant of that fact," I pointed out.

"Well, anyways, chances are your party is going to be absolutely awesome. Asuka's got a perfect record," Kensuke pointed out. That was a weight off of my mind I guess. If Asuka was good at planning parties and if she enjoyed it, then it was all fine and dandy.

The day ended as usual with all of us goofing around in the computer room before leaving for home. However, something was bugging me as I walked on my way home. I had a niggling feeling that there was something I should be remembering. Then, my phone went off to indicate that I have a text message. Slowly, I reached for it, gradually beginning to remember what I may have forgotten. I read what was on the screen of my mobile phone and see that the text is from Asuka. Now I remember. Shit.

All the text said was, "Where are you? x." Any bystander would have been astonished to see me immediately turn around in the opposite direction and start running as fast as I possibly could. Asuka had asked me to come with her to the mall after school and I had completely forgotten. How could I forget? She asked me in physics that morning and I still managed to forget! Then again, I did manage to forget my own birthday so maybe this shouldn't really come as any surprise.

I took about 5 minutes but I managed to make it to face a very peeved looking Asuka. "First, you forget your own birthday then more crucially, you forget something which I ask of you today. Something as simple as, 'Shinji, come with me to the mall.' I can safely say that you're an idiot," was Asuka's scathing put-down.

"I'm really sorry…I have no idea how I forgot," I said, panting to try and regain my breath.

"Forget it," Asuka said. "Actually, don't forget it. You've done that twice already."

I knew that she wouldn't have been happy with having just one go at me. There had to be at least two. "Okay, I'll buy you whatever you want to eat at the food court," I said.

"That's better," Asuka said smugly. "Now, I need your opinion on a few things I was thinking about buying." Great. She obviously didn't mean that however. I translated what she said as, "I want you to say, 'that's nice' at the many, many things I will be purchasing today." I wonder why Asuka took me shopping sometimes. Why didn't she just go with Hikari? "I go with Hikari all the time," Asuka explained. I hadn't even realised I asked that out loud. "But it's good to get a second opinion sometimes." Well, what about Rei? "Rei? I'm not too sure. Maybe I should go shopping with her some time," Asuka replied. Now this was very odd. Was I thinking out loud? Or is somebody forgetting speech marks just to annoy me?

We spent about three quarters of an hour just going from shop to shop while Asuka tried things on before buying them. I really wondered if there was any point in me being there. "Hey Shinji, what do you think of this?" Asuka inquired after emerging from the changing room.

"What is it now?" I asked as I tiredly as turned her way, only to find that she had a very revealing black bikini on. "Oh…uh…that's...um…very nice, Asuka."

"I thought you would say that," Asuka said with a very, very mischievous smile. "I'll be bringing sexy back with this little number!"

"Yeah…sure will," I agreed, slowly nodding my head. I hated and loved moments like this. Loved because, well, it's Asuka in a bikini showing off her body right in front of me. Hated because she always catches me off guard so I look like an idiot, even more so than I usually do to her. "Yup! With the summer break coming up I think a new bikini would be a nice buy!"

"Yeah," was all I managed to say to that.

Asuka went back into the changing room, leaving me thoroughly dumbfounded. As I waited for her to reappear, a shop assistant approached me with an annoyed look on her face. "Excuse me young man, but could you please remind your girlfriend not to leave the changing rooms with something that revealing on," she said.

"Okay, sure thing," I replied without thinking. Then my brain started working again, "Wait! She's not my…" But by then, the shop-assistant was gone. "…girlfriend," I said quietly to myself. What did Asuka and I do to make her think that we were a couple? I mean, we were just shopping and Asuka was just messing about…I think.

After Asuka purchased her skimpy swimwear, we headed off to the food court where I had promised to buy Asuka her food. "Where shall we eat today I wonder?" Asuka thought out loud.

"I was feeling pizza," I offered.

"Pizza it is!" Asuka agreed. "You always seem to know what kind of food mood I'm in!"

"That's because we always get pizza at the mall," I pointed out with a sigh.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't realised," Asuka said. "Anyway, I'll get us some seats. Can you get me just a small margarita cheese and tomato? I'm not feeling that hungry."

"Then why are you eating then?" I asked.

"Because you said you'd buy me food for being a forgetful idiot. I can't pass that up," Asuka said with a smile before walking off to find a seat in what was a tremendously huge food court. There was a significant chance of me getting lost just trying to find her after purchasing the pizzas.

Thankfully, the process of finding her was easy after buying the pizza. She was just near the edge which was where you wanted to be. "Ah, the delivery boy has arrived," Asuka said.

"Shut up and take your damn pizza," I said, almost tossing the pizza box at her.

"You're too easy sometimes!" Asuka laughed. "By the way, look over there. It's that new guy, Kaworu."

So?" I asked with my mouth stuffed full of the meat-feast pizza I got.

"Think we should go over and say hello?" Asuka inquired.

"I don't know. Maybe, it would be the nice thing to do," I said. "Um, when you said it was Kaworu, you failed to mention that he was with three other girls who all seem to be eyeing him up very intently."

"The guy must have something to offer to all three of them," Asuka chuckled. "You would love three at once, wouldn't you?"

Remember when I said my mouth was stuffed with pizza? Well, that was pretty much all spat out after Asuka's statement. "Why would you say something like that?" I asked.

"Well, you're an adolescent guy so I assume you do most of your thinking with a certain appendage in the crotch region," Asuka explained.

"Asuka!" I cried.

"Am I one of those three girls you so desire?" Asuka asked next with a smile to kill. This time I just fell out of my chair. No big deal. Whilst on the floor in a heap, I heard Asuka burst out into laughter. "Shinji Ikari, you are far, far too easy," Asuka said. "Now, shall we say hello to Kaworu?" I indignantly got up and followed her to the table at which Kaworu was sat at, along with his harem, or band of concubines.

"Hey there!" Asuka said. "I don't know if you've seen us but you transferred to our class today! I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu and this is my friend, Shinji Ikari!"

"Oh yes, I remember that face all right," Kaworu said with a smile. "There's no way I could forget one as lovely as yours."

"Why thank you!" Asuka said, returning the smile. I was already annoyed with this Kaworu guy. No good womanising pretty boy. That's what he was! "Anyway, Shinji and I are just here to say hello and to welcome to you to our school and city," Asuka said.

"If you ever need anything," I added, "just, uh, find us in school and we'll help you out as best we can."

"Thank you very much Shinji. I hear your father is the headmaster of the school, correct?" Kaworu inquired.

"Yeah, he was recently placed with that post," I replied.

"Ah, so if I ever need to wrangle myself out of a hitch, eh?" Kaworu chuckled, tapping me with his elbow and winking at me. How obnoxious could you get? "Uh, yeah, if you're ever in a hitch," I said though gritted teeth.

"Anyway, thank you for saying hello," Kaworu said. "I'm sure your food is getting cold though! It's been wonderful meeting you two."

"Same here!" Asuka said.

At that point, I began to walk away but I could just hear Kaworu saying, "And Asuka, I do sincerely hope we meet again." That sentence made my insides shudder with rage. I don't know what it is about him that made me so mad but he just did!

Asuka soon caught up to me and said, "Hey, maybe you could learn a thing or two from Kaworu over there. The guy knows how to talk to a girl!"

"Like this? Asuka, I think you're absolutely gorgeous and I would love it if we went to have dinner before seeing a movie on the Friday before my birthday! How does that sound?!" I cried.

You know, of the moronic and idiotic things I've said, maybe this one takes the grand prize. After my outburst Asuka and I were left standing, not to mention the people in our immediate area, in absolute shocked silence at what I had said. This was incredibly awkward, something I would have rather avoided. "Um, I think I'll leave now," I said, making my way out of the food court with the intended destination of my house.

"Shinji, wait!" Asuka said. I had no intention of stopping however. I just carried straight on, even leaving the pizza that I hadn't even finished a slice of. As I walked, I could not stop thinking about how stupid I was. I let some new guy who I barely knew get to me so badly that I said that to Asuka. I don't even know where it came from. Maybe the bowels of my subconscious? I don't know. What I do know is that it could prove to be a rather large mistake. Oops.


	12. Meet the Parents

**Disclaimer:** Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Shinji Ikari. He was forced to take over the franchise, much like being forced to pilot Unit 01. It was easy to get his permission to take 100 percent of all profits. He is the biggest wimp in the universe if he doesn't have a giant robot to hide behind.

Okay, seriously, Evangelion doesn't belong to me. I have no money from them. They cankeep it all!

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know, I'm beginning to suck at updates. I've not managed to update while at university which is quite shambolic, really. Still, I'll update as much as possible while on this break of mine between semesters!

* * *

"You said WHAT to her?!" Toji cried over the phone.

This is my predicament and it is one of my own doing. I still don't quite understand why or how I managed to get myself into it but here I am, in a huge mess. "You heard right," I sighed over the phone.

"Okay, did you mean what you said?" Toji asked next.

"Um, maybe? I don't know," I replied sheepishly.

"What do you mean you don't know what you mean?! You have to know what you mean! You don't just say things like that for shits and giggles! You either mean it or you don't! Come on, man up!" Toji said. I could hear his mother in the background chastising him for swearing. I would have found that funny had my entire world not just flipped upside down with a slight tilt to the left. "Sorry mum," I heard Toji say.

"Well, let's just say I'm not too sure what to do," I pointed out.

"If I was in your situation then I wouldn't know what to do either," Toji agreed. "Didn't you ask her to organise your birthday party this Saturday as well?"

"Holy crap, yes," I muttered, adding a long and heavy sigh. "You know, nothing good is coming of this."

"Probably not. You don't have the balls to speak to her either. Maybe you should speak to a girl about this," Toji suggested. "Do you have Hikari's number? You could speak to her about it."

"I was thinking about speaking to Rei about it," I said.

"Uh, no offence, but I don't think Rei would provide the best advice when it comes to something like this."

"I don't know, she sometimes hands out a gem every now and then. I'll tell you what; I'll speak to the both of them."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan."

I called Hikari first to get her advice. To be honest, what I first heard wasn't so reassuring. "Shinji, that's so sweet!" she cried.

"It…is?" I asked.

"Sure, it's not every day a guy admits he likes a girl like that!" Hikari replied.

"Um, okay. Well, the circumstances were a little odd, let's say. I kind of yelled it out of nowhere then ran away afterwards," I said without thinking how much of a little dork I just sounded like having explained this.

"Oh. Well, that changes things a bit," Hikari said.

"Just a bit," I said.

"Did you mean what you said?" was her next question. Again with that questions. It wasn't helpful and it just made me think that I was in an even deeper mess. "I don't know," I replied honestly.

"How can you not know?! That's a pretty serious admission you made there!" Hikari cried. "You're toying with a girl's heart with stuff like that!"

"Don't think this isn't hard on me as well," I said quietly. "My brain's in 70 different places in once and I can't think straight for more than a second."

"Well, my best advice is just to speak to Asuka. It's not like you said anything bad to her. She just might think you're in love with her," Hikari said.

"That isn't the worst thing I guess. Oh well, thanks for everything Hikari."

"Don't mention it. And Shinji, seriously, speak to Asuka, okay?"

After placing the phone back in its cradle, I took a deep breath and tried to think things through. Had the circumstances been a little different, I don't know, maybe a quiet table for two, lit only by a candle, maybe that admission of mine would have gone down a little bit better. I'd have to omit the part about having dinner but that would pretty much have suited that situation. Still, it was far too late to be thinking about the 'what if' so I picked the phone up again and phoned Rei this time.

"Hello?" was the answer once the ringing had stopped.

"Hello there, is Rei there?" I said.

"Who's speaking?" asked who was presumably Rei's mother.

"Shinji Ikari, one of Rei's friends from school," I replied.

"Hello there! I'll just get her for you." I waited a short moment before I heard Rei's voice down on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hey Rei, it's Shinji."

"Hello Shinji. How are you?"

"I'm in a bit of a pickle."

"A pickle?"

"Yeah, involving something I said and Asuka."

"You said something about a pickle to Asuka?"

"No!" I cried, not remembering Rei's naivety towards figures of speech and expressions. "I'm in a bit of a pickle means I'm in a situation of some concern, or something like that."

"I see."

"Anyway, I was at the mall with Asuka in the food court and we bump into the new guy, Kaworu. He was with a few of his new lady friends and he smooth talks Asuka. This kind of annoys me when Asuka tells me that he knows how to speak to girls and that I should emulate him somehow. I then say to her and these are my exact words, 'Asuka, I think you're absolutely gorgeous and I would love it if we went to have dinner before seeing a movie on the Friday before my birthday. How does that sound?' I then proceeded to run away."

"My, that is a bit of a pickle," Rei said, sounding genuinely concerned in a Rei kind of way.

"I was wondering whether you have any words of wisdom for this situation so I kind try and uh, get myself out of this mess."

"It's not a situation that I am familiar with but what I would do is take a walk on my own, preferably somewhere quiet to think things through by myself. Then confront whatever needs to be confronted after thinking long and hard about it."

"You know, that's the best advice I've had today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Thanks Rei."

After finishing that conversation I headed outside and went for a walk through the streets of Tokyo-3 suburbia, albeit the upper class variety. It was very quiet considering that evening was slowing casting its shadow over the neighbourhood. It was kind of cathartic in a way and I'm glad Rei suggested taking a walk. I eventually made it to the park and sat down on a bench which made for some good thinking time for myself. So here I was in this mess, not knowing what to do. The only real option it seemed was to speak to Asuka directly about it. There was no way around it and I had to do it sooner rather than later.

"Oh, hello Shinji."

I glanced to my right to see the person I least wanted to see at this moment in time. Kaworu Nagisa, possibly the source of all my woes and if not the source, then the person who had driven me to them. "Hey Kaworu," I said, trying to make it clear that I wanted to be left alone at the moment.

"Your mind must be in a mess," Kaworu said as he took a seat next to me, exactly the thing I didn't want him to do. "Those things you said, they would have been incredibly touching, had you meant them."

"Well, I don't know whether I meant them or not and now I'm in this situation," I said.

"The way to a girl's heart is always uncertain," Kaworu noted.

"Looks like you have it all figured out," I muttered.

"Maybe, maybe not," Kaworu said. "But I guess I acted inappropriately with Asuka."

"You're a man for the ladies. It's to be expected," I said.

Kaworu laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Still, there's more to life than girls. There's music."

"You're a music fan?"

"Musician. I play the violin."

"Oh? I play cello."

"Ah, a fellow musician," Kaworu said with a smile. "Have you ever thought about playing for the Tokyo-3 Youth Symphony Orchestra?"

"Tokyo-3 has a youth symphony orchestra?" I asked.

"I'll take that as a no," Kaworu said with a chuckle. "I'm applying for an audition tomorrow. You should come too."

"I guess…I could," I said. "I don't know if I'd be good enough."

"You know, something just tells me that you'd be good enough," Kaworu said. "Are you the kind of cello player who likes just playing the continuo parts of a Bach cantata?"

"Hell no. Do you have any idea how boring continuo playing is?"

"There you go. You enjoy expressing yourself on the cello, rather than being just part of the accompaniment. You'd get in with no hassle at all," Kaworu said with a smile.

You know, I didn't figure Kaworu as a guy who could use his sweet talking skills in any situation. Then again, he may have even been sincere about it. "I guess I could give it a shot," I said. Was I falling into a trap? Was I being lulled into a false sense of security? "Well, I'm going practise my recital at lunchtime. Maybe you'll join me?"

"Maybe I will," I said.

"There. Anyway, we went off topic for a moment. You're wondering what to do about Asuka, aren't you?" Kaworu asked.

"Just a bit," I muttered. "You saw everything, right? I never thought I'd managed to cause such a debacle."

"All is not lost. Maybe she's just wondering why you ran away," Kaworu said.

"Maybe because I made a bloody fool of myself? Come on," I said.

"Not really. All you did was compliment her and ask her out to dinner and a movie," Kaworu noted. "Not much wrong with that, I think."

"Hey…you're right…" I said. "I didn't really say anything wrong. It was just the situation and the circumstances in which I said it but then again, it isn't anything wrong, right?"

"Nothing wrong from what I see. Running away perhaps but maybe you promised to do something for your mother. Walk the dog, perhaps?" Kaworu suggested.

"I don't have a dog, but if worst comes to worst, I'll just tell her the truth," I said.

"Sometimes the truth is the best option," Kaworu agreed.

I felt there was something more to Kaworu now rather than just a one dimensional womaniser. He seemed to be able to think things through and offer real insight. He also seemed to enjoy the same kind of music I enjoyed, being a fellow string player and the suggestion of playing in Tokyo-3's very own youth symphony orchestra was quite an excitement for me, having never had much orchestra experience outside of the Academy.

"I guess I should go speak to her then," I said.

"By phone, instant messaging or dare I say it, text message?" Kaworu inquired with a smile.

I chuckled quietly before saying, "Nah, I might do it the old fashioned way and visit her at her house. I've never been to her house either so it might be a little adventure."

"Old fashioned way, huh? Good luck to you sir," Kaworu said.

"By the way, how did you end up working your magic on three girls at once?" I asked.

"Actually, I was on my own, exploring the mall. I bumped into them. Turns out they were from the music and drama club, asking me if I wanted to join the school's orchestra signed me up for an audition for the Tokyo-3 Youth Symphony Orchestra," Kaworu replied. "So really, there was no womanising at work. And it's usually girls who do most of the work in school clubs anyway."

"Oh, I see," I said, having gauged Kaworu very, very wrongly. "I guess I should apologise for thinking that you were a sleazy nut-job."

"It's okay. I gave off the wrong impression speaking to Asuka like that anyway. If I had known she meant that much to you, then I would have certainly have been more amicable," Kaworu said.

"Uh…meant that much to me? I guess so…we've not been friends for very long," I murmured.

"The best relationships are sometimes formed in the space of seconds," Kaworu noted. "Anyway, it's getting dark. Maybe you should hurry on."

"I guess I should. I'm almost 17 so my parents won't mind me coming home a little bit later than usual."

"Fair enough I guess. Anyway, I shall see you later, Shinji," Kaworu said.

"Sure thing," I said, getting up to leave. "Oh, and Kaworu."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

With those words, I headed towards the train station while calling home to tell them I would be home a little bit later. "Hello?" was the answer on the other end. It was my father, so I was expecting a quick snappy phone call.

"Uh, hi dad. Listen, I'm going to Asuka's house so I won't be home until later," I said.

"Have you done your homework?" my father inquired.

That caught me completely off-guard. Usually he just grunted in agreement and hung up. "Uh, no," I replied.

"I've been speaking to Dr Akagi, Mr Hyuga, Mr Aoba and Miss Ibuki and they all say you've been handing in your homework late on repeated occasions recently. I must say, it's quite disappointing."

I couldn't believe it. My father was actually expressing disappointment in me. I was actually happy that he was giving an opinion on something I had done. "Well, uh, I know I've been a bit slack about work recently but it's because my birthday's coming up. I'll rectify it as soon as it's passed. I'll tell you what, as soon as I get back from Asuka's, I'll do my maths, English, Japanese literature, history, physics, biology, chemistry and music homework," I said.

"You mean every bit of homework you were planning to give in late?" my father asked me.

"Um, yeah. But still, I really have to speak to Asuka so I'll be back later, okay?" I said.

"Woman troubles?" my dad asked with a sudden change of tone.

"Something like that. Since when were you interested?" I replied.

"I don't know. There's nothing good on TV."

I laughed and said, "I see. Speaking to your son instead for some entertainment."

"Well, if you're off to see a girl at her house, remember to be nice to her parents. Pay your compliments and smile. Then you'll pass off as good husband material to the parents," my dad said.

"Dad!" I cried. "I'm only turning 17 this weekend. Let's not talk about marriage!"

"That's true. I would be a bit annoyed if you got married at this age. Could you at least wait until you've finished university?"

"I've not even thought about university!" I cried.

"Well, you should. It's not too long until entrance exams for you. Where do you want to apply?"

By this time I had paid for my ticket and gotten on the train. This is surely the longest conversation I have ever had with my father, ever. "I don't know. Maybe Kyoto?"

"How about somewhere close to home, like Tokyo University?"

"Do you know how hard it is to get into Toudai, dad?" I cried.

"Well, your mother and I managed it. I'm sure our genes are in you, son," my dad said.

"It'll take more than genes to get me through the entrance exams," I pointed out. "Anyway, I'd rather not think about serious stuff with my birthday coming up and all," I said.

"Right, fair enough. I should probably go. Your mother is yelling something at me."

"Sure. And dad. Thanks for talking. Maybe we should do it more often."

"If the TV breaks I'll consider it."

I laughed and said, "Bye dad." I hung up and waited for the train to get me to Asuka's place. She lived on the outskirts of the city so it would be about twenty minutes on the train. Still, I had my iPod and the conversation with my father left me in good spirits which was odd. I wondered whether he was capable of acting like a real father since I was very little but turns out he can. Shame it took nearly 17 years for me to discover that.

* * *

Soon, I got off the train and walked through the very suburban environment Asuka lived in. The houses here were all huge and put the top floor penthouse we lived in to shame. They all had huge gardens, walls, gates and some had swimming pools from what I could discern. I guess there was a reason why Asuka went to the most expensive and prestigious school in Tokyo-3 if she lived in a house like the ones I was seeing here. I walked down to number 8 which was the biggest of all the ones on this street. Their driveway was shielded by a huge, imposing iron fence. I even had to call on the intercom to get anywhere near their front door. I took a deep breath and pressed on the button, hoping for some reason that it wouldn't be Asuka who answered.

"Hello?" was the reply, thankfully from a male voice.

"Hi there. I'm Shinji Ikari, one of Asuka's friends from school. Do you mind if I come in to speak to her?" I said as politely as I could.

"Ah, sure thing. Come on in, I'll open the gate. Watch the dogs; they get frisky with new visitors."

"Dogs…?" I thought out loud as the gate opened in front of me. I walked in cautiously, on the look out for these dogs I was warned of but after a while I saw nothing. Confident there was no danger, I walked on. As I was about the reach the front door, out of nowhere, three German Shepherds appeared from around the corner, barking like crazy. "Holy crap," I muttered as I was literally tackled to the ground by the three huge dogs. They then proceeded to lick my face crazily. I guess by frisky, overly excited at someone new was implied. "Hey! Get off him!" I heard the same man from the intercom yell. After the dogs were forcibly removed from me, I took a look at the man and immediately took him to be Asuka's father from his European appearance. Come to think of it, his Japanese had an accent as well.

"Sorry about the dogs. They get far too excited when we have new people around," said Asuka's father as he extended a hand my way. I took it and was helped to me feet, although my face was still caked with dog saliva. "Come on in, we'll get you cleaned up."

I followed him into the house and was greeted to a large open lobby with a staircase up to the second level. "Welcome to our residence, Shinji. My name is Dieter Langley and as you've guessed, I'm Asuka's father. You're probably looking for a bathroom. Straight on to the left and it's the first door you meet."

"Thank you, Mr Langley," I said, remembering what my dad said and bowing slightly.

"Cut it with the Mr Langley and the bowing. Call me Dieter. Any friend of any of my family is my friend, Shinji," Asuka's father said with a smile.

I got myself cleaned up and emerged fresh faced. "Now, Asuka is currently on the phone to her friend Hikari at the moment and has been for a while now. You know what girls are like," Dieter chuckled.

"Tell me about it," I said in agreement.

"Is this Asuka's friend?" asked who was presumably Asuka's mother, currently emerging from the kitchen.

"Yes dear. His name is Shinji Ikari," Dieter said.

"Pleased to meet you Shinji. I'm Kyoko," she said, extended her hand. Asuka's mother was definitely more Japanese but she bore a resemblance to Asuka in her appearance being sort of European. "Pleased to meet you too," I said with a smile and a bow, trying to make a good first impression. To be honest, I hadn't actually been expecting to meet her parents like this. I thought it would be a quick hello and goodbye job, not a full on introduction.

"Say, Shinji, are you doing anything later this evening?" Dieter asked.

"Um, besides homework, no," I replied.

"Well how about you join us for dinner?" Kyoko said with a smile.

"Dinner? I don't know…" I said, suddenly feeling unsure about this situation.

"Oh come on! It's the least we could do for letting our dogs attack you like that!" Dieter said with a laugh. "I'm sure Asuka would love that."

"I'm sure she would," I said through gritted teeth. Asuka's parents were incredibly nice people and her father was the complete opposite of mine. I almost thought they were too nice. I guess having a lot of money and a family does make you pretty happy in some cases.

"Dad! Mum! I'm done on the phone!" I heard Asuka cry from upstairs.

"Okay Asuka! By the way, your friend Shinji is here!" Dieter yelled back.

"Really? Okay, I'll be down in a second," Asuka said. I gulped after hearing that. I was kind of expecting her to be a bit less full on. Maybe a little more apprehensive like I had been? Then again, I guess Asuka never seems to have fear for anything. I did think I had done well though, mustering enough courage to speak directly to her. She soon emerged dressed quite casually in a loose t-shirt and some shorts. I guess it was summer and people were making quite an effort to stay cool. "Hey Shinji," Asuka said.

"Um, hi Asuka. I was meaning to speak to you today about uh, that incident in the mall," I said, knowing that her parents were right there.

"Oh, right. That," Asuka said. She then turned to her parents and kind of moved her head as if to tell them to go. "Oh right, you kids want to speak in private. Okay, then. Just to let you know Shinji's staying for dinner," Dieter said.

"Well, I haven't really decided yet," I said with a nervous laugh.

"We'll let you ponder it, Shinji," Kyoko said before Asuka's parents left.

So then it was just Asuka and I, on our own. Wow, I really hadn't thought this through at all. "So, first time at my place, huh?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, it's really nice," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"You don't have a garden right? You should come and see ours!" Asuka said, leading me out. If this wasn't avoiding the topic at hand, I don't know what was. I followed her out and as expected, the back garden was both large and incredibly pleasant. There was even a hot tub which would have been a nice party piece. "It's great," I said.

"Yup. Kind of reminds me of the house in Germany," Asuka said.

"You have a house in Germany as well?" I asked.

"It's more like a holiday home I guess," Asuka replied. "About what you said in the mall."

"Yeah, about that…"

"Will 7 o'clock do for dinner? If we want to see a movie, then we'd have to eat then to catch the latest showings," Asuka said.

"I know what I said was…wait…did you say…dinner at 7?" I asked with a sense of trepidation.

"It would be the most logical choice. I mean, if we go for three courses then it could be more than 2 hours in there, especially the way we babble on," Asuka answered.

"Well, okay," I said. This was a crisis there didn't actually need to be adverted which was a huge relief. It was evident on my face as well. "And Shinji, don't worry about it. Running off in the mall…I guess you were nervous right?" Asuka asked.

"Just a bit. I thought I messed up somehow," I said. "Funny story, I bumped into Kaworu on the way here. Turns out he's a real cool guy."

"Oh really?"

"And those girls were from the school's music and drama club asking him to join the school orchestra," I added.

"You get worked up so easily. You really are an idiot," Asuka said with a laughed.

"Hey, this idiot is taking you out for dinner," I said.

"That's true," Asuka said. "Any, after my parents give you dinner how about we get the hot tub going?"

"Uh…I kind of promised to be home in time to do homework," I said feebly.

"Wait one second," Asuka said before running off.

I stood there in the garden, admiring the hedges for about five minutes until Asuka returned. "We're scrapping dinner," she said.

"Oh, that's a shame," I noted, feeling slightly disappointed as well.

"Instead, we're having a barbeque and your parents agreed to come along having been invited by mine," Asuka said with a smile.

"You what?! Oh my god Asuka, you never cease to amaze me! How the hell did you manage that?" I cried, absolutely stunned by what she had just pulled off, namely getting me away from doing homework by inviting by parents.

"Don't thank me. Thank my parents. When it comes to hospitality, they seem to be able to do anything. I learned most of my party planning from my parents," Asuka said with a smile. "Anyway, I'm going to change into something a bit less casual. You can come inside you know. We're not forcing you to stay outside."

"Sure thing," I said, elated by the current turn of events. I don't know how Asuka's very upbeat parents would respond to my father's very stern appearance but I guess he can loosen up when he choose and having my mother there would help as well.

* * *

I went back inside the house to find Asuka's parents running in and out of the kitchen preparing for the impromptu barbeque. I wondered how they would feel if I told them Asuka was doing this to get me out of homework and stay here longer. I smiled to myself at the prospect and offered my services to assist the couple in any way. I had to take large amounts of food and beverages outside but I didn't mind. Helping in any way would give a good impression to them I guess. "Good to see you're making yourself useful!" Asuka chuckled from behind me. I placed the sauces on the table outside and turned to face Asuka who had dressed herself very nicely. This was the first time she would be meeting my parents as well so she got herself into a smart shirt and jumper combination as well as a skirt that went down to her knees. "Nice to see you're looking nice," I said to her.

"You think? I went for simple and functional," Asuka said, looking down at her clothes.

"It's fine. My parents don't really give too much to appearances. You've seen how I dress sometimes," I said.

"Yeah, horrifically," Asuka noted.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting that," I said with an unimpressed look.

"Your buttons are easy to push as always," Asuka chuckled. "How long will your parents be?"

"They are coming from the centre of the city. Give them at least another ten minutes," I said.

"Good. That gives us some time alone," Asuka said.

"What?" I asked before I was forcefully dragged by the arm by Asuka. She pulled me deeper into the yard towards what appeared to be three kennels. "Have you met our three dogs?" Asuka asked.

"Yes. They attacked me with a serious licking when I first arrived," I muttered.

"Haha! That must mean they definitely like you!" Asuka chuckled. She then whistled and out came the three dogs again. "Here boys, come to mummy!" Asuka said, petting the dogs. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"They sure are majestic dogs," I agreed, liking the view of them not on top of me.

"This is Beethoven, this is Bach and this is Mozart," Asuka said. "My dad loves his German composers, you see."

"So do I," I laughed. "Mind if I pet them too?"

"Sure, go for it," Asuka said. "I love these dogs. They're like little, hyperactive brothers to me."

"They sure are hyperactive, that's for sure," I agreed. "German Shepherds as well."

"My dad does enjoy showing his heritage, even if he is part American as well," Asuka chuckled. "Born and bred in Germany though."

"That gives you quite a mixed background," I noted.

"I'm a mongrel of sorts but it doesn't seem to deter you," Asuka said.

"Nah. I don't even know why I speak to you," I said sarcastically.

"Idiot!" Asuka cried who at that point literally tackled me to the ground.

I opened my eyes after hitting the deck to see Asuka on top of me. "Don't diss me again Ikari!" she said before tapping my nose with her finger and getting up off of me. I was quite surprised by her reaction but then again this was the unpredictable Asuka I was dealing with here. I got to my feet and smiled, happy that things weren't half as bad as I thought they were. At that moment, my parents had arrived, bringing an expensive bottle of wine as a gift, ironically one of the bottles that we had gotten Kaji to replace after our experiments with alcohol and my parents were none the wiser which was a relief.

* * *

The barbeque was going really well with my parents really getting on with Asuka's, even my father which was a pleasant surprise. It is impossible to not get on with my mother so she went down like a bomb with Asuka's parents as well. The hours went by and we had many a conversation about school, work, recent events and the 'Fuyutsuki takedown'. I even got into a conversation about classical music with Asuka's father. By about ten o'clock, the adults had worked their way through a fair amount of alcohol which meant only one thing. "Hey Gendo, do you mind if Shinji tries some of this beer?" Dieter asked.

"Sure, go for it. He's old enough to try," my dad said.

"Honey, are you sure?" my mother asked.

"He's nearly 17. Let the boy have some beer," my dad insisted.

"Shinji, this is called _Kellarbier_. It's a personal favourite of mine from Germany," Dieter said, handing me a big glass of it. "I have this stuff imported in." I took a sip and found the taste odd at first but then I began to enjoy it a bit. "It's good," I said, drinking a bit more.

"The only thing that comes close to me is the beer in the UK. Not lager but the real ales. I would let you try some if I had any," Dieter said. "Your father quite enjoys _Kellarbier _too."

"It is to my taste," my dad said, raising his glass.

By that point, Asuka had gotten her hands on some wine and by 11 o'clock that night, trying beer had turned into a few full glasses which my parents made no complaint about and Asuka had consumed most of a bottle of wine which her parents seemed fine about as well. I guess when they're here to watch over us, they don't mind us drinking at all. Still, not good to make a habit of this. "It's getting late," my dad noted. "But there's no way I'm driving back after drinking this much."

"You're more than welcome to stay the night. I can have Shinji driven to school in the morning," Dieter said.

"Thank you very much Dieter, you're a lifesaver," my mother said. "We'll invite you around to our home soon, we promise."

"Don't feel obliged; it was lovely having you around," Kyoko said with a smile. "Anyway, shall we head back inside?"

"Yes, I think we shall," my father said.

"Mum, mum! I'm going to get the hot tub fired up," Asuka said.

"Sure thing honey. Don't stay up too late, you have school tomorrow," said Kyoko.

Asuka literally ran across to the hot tub and lifted the cover off of it before getting it going. "I'm going to get changed into a swimsuit!" Asuka said. "Be right back!"

"Wait! I don't have any swimwear!" I said.

"Oh? Well, I'll steal some of my dad's for you!" Asuka said.

"Asuka, that isn't a good idea!" I yelled but by then she was gone. She returned quickly, having not changed with a set of swimming shorts in her hands. "He doesn't mind you using them. Don't worry, these are new," Asuka said before running off again. I made my way to the ground floor bathroom toilet to change and waited outside for Asuka by the hot tub. The summer nights were really warm and it still seemed like the middle of the day despite the clear night sky above me. I was wondering how this day got so good so quickly. Maybe Asuka was more understanding than I thought. I don't know. Maybe I had just been lucky.

"Well Mr Ikari, what do you think?!" Asuka asked. I looked her way and found her in that black bikini she bought today. "Wow," was all I managed to say.

"That's nice of you Shinji!" Asuka said. "Now into the hot tub we go!" She grabbed my arms and literally made us jump into it which wasn't the wisest thing to do as I banged by shin of one of the sides. "Ouch! That hurt!" I muttered.

"Oh come on! Man up Shinji! I've jumped into this hundreds of times and never once gotten hurt!" Asuka said.

"Well, I'm not you," I pointed out.

"That's true. Nobody comes close to me!" Asuka said with a laugh.

"Humility runs deep in your personality," I said sarcastically.

"Shut up, you!" Asuka said, splashing water in my face.

"Ah, stop it! Can't you see I'm in pain?!" I cried, attempting feebly to splash with my left hand while my right clutched my throbbing shin.

"Idiot! Like a care!" Asuka said, continuing to splash water at me.

After a continued assault, I waved my hands in defeat before sitting back in the seat of the hot tub, simply relaxing in the bubbling heat. Surprisingly, Asuka scooted over and rested her head on my chest. "Hey Shinji," she said, looking up towards me.

"Yeah?" I asked, getting pretty nervous with Asuka in such close proximity to me.

"When you said I was gorgeous…did you…mean it?" Asuka asked.

That was a very good question. I had said on the phone earlier today that I wasn't sure whether I meant it or not but now I really had to answer this question. My heartbeat quickened and with Asuka where she was I'm sure she heard it. Considering that she had taken me up on dinner and the movie, I guess my request was sincere which meant the compliment was as well. "Yes Asuka. I meant it. I really did. You're gorgeous," I said, trying to work some of that Kaworu sweet talking.

Asuka didn't reply with words but instead kissed me which was unexpected. At this point my heartbeat stopped completely but I didn't care. This girl who I had only really known for about a month was here, kissing me in the blissful summer night in a hot tub. I'm sure we've done that before but this time neither of us was stupidly drunk and all sentiments were real. Sure, we had had a bit to drink but that really didn't have any bearing over what was happening now.

After a minute, I'm sure this was classed as making out as we continued the embrace and I loved every single second of it. Soon our lips parted and Asuka looked up to me and smiled. "You're an idiot Shinji, but I like you," she said. It was an odd admission of affection but I'd accept it happily if it came from Asuka. "I'm an idiot, but I like you too," I said with a smile.

"You know, I was hoping this would happen sooner," Asuka said.

That was a surprise. "Really?" I asked.

"Remember the day Fuyutsuki got arrested? I was speaking to you about something I wanted to tell you but Misato phoned and interrupted the conversation," Asuka said.

"Yeah, I remember," I said.

"I was about to say to you that I liked you," Asuka said. "And that we should go out for dinner and a movie."

"I can't believe it," I said.

"That's right. I liked you even before now you idiot. You happy?" Asuka asked.

"How could I not be?" I laughed.

And as we kissed again, I wondered how odd a day I just had. It went from catastrophically bad to absolutely perfect. You know, I'd happily have every day of my life to be like this if it ended this way.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, Shinji and Asuka do get together. I was planning to do it a lot later but I guess it felt right to do it here. This is a personal best for me, holding it off until chapeter 12! I usually only get to about number 5 or 6 until it happens! Anyway, I shall be working furiously to get an update out within the week. Now THAT is a tall order. Until the next time!


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